Naharnet

Aoun: Resorting to Orthodox Gathering Law Normal after Rejection of Proportionality

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Sunday suggested adopting the electoral law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elect its own lawmakers, after the government’s recent endorsement of an electoral law based on proportional representation and 13 electorates infuriated the opposition March 14 camp and Druze leader Walid Jumblat.

“Resorting to the electoral law adopted by the Orthodox Gathering will be normal after the rejection of a law based on proportional representation,” Aoun during an iftar banquet organized by FPM’s Beirut department:

“We have made a sacrifice by accepting the proportional representation system, as we would lose around 10 seats in Mount Lebanon after we claimed all the seats in the past,” Aoun noted, saying he accepted the law to secure fair representation for all minorities.

“The importance of an electoral law based on proportional representation is that we will get rid of the sectarian and inflammatory rhetoric,” he added.

Aoun stressed that a proportional electoral law ensures fair representation for all of the country’s components.

“During the Bkirki meeting, I did not support the law calling for each sect to elect its own lawmakers. The Lebanese Forces and the Phalange Party suggested the Orthodox Gathering law and we suggested proportionality,” Aoun revealed.

Aoun noted, however, that the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal did not enjoy consensus among the Lebanese.


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