Rifi Calls for International Election Observation
Former justice minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi accused the “State authorities of meddling” in the parliamentary elections in order to “secure victory,” as he called for international observers to monitor the May 6 elections, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.
“We have already warned against the authority's interference and influence in the elections. Today we have become certain that they are using legal and illegal means to ensure their victory,” the daily quoted Rifi as saying.
Rifi accused the authority of exerting pressure on candidates to prevent them from forming electoral lists.
He said: “They are using the ministries, administrations, governors and some security apparatuses to pressure us and to pressure other candidates to forestall us from forming lists.”
He called for “international election monitoring, because the authority is biased and not qualified to conduct the electoral process.”
The parliamentary elections will be held under a complex proportional representation system on May 6.
The new electoral law, approved last year after years of political wrangling, is based on a proportional representation system and 15 electoral districts. It replaces the winner-takes-all system that had governed Lebanon's elections since 1943.
The deadline for registering lists expires on March 26.
Source: Naharnet
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