Berri Describes Opposition MPs Statement as 'Positive' but Awaits their Next Step
Speaker Nabih Berri described on Wednesday a statement issued by March 14 opposition MPs as a “positive step” pending their next measure aimed at activating a parliamentary subcommittee on an electoral draft-law.
In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, Berri said he was still waiting for their next step to take the appropriate action in calling for the subcommittee's meeting.
The speaker will set a date for a meeting with the MPs based on their request to avoid wasting time ahead of the 2013 parliamentary elections, the daily said.
Following a meeting held on Monday by the opposition's parliamentary committee heads, rapporteurs and members of parliament's bureau at MP Butros Harb's residence, the MPs said they were willing to attend the meeting of the subcommittee to agree on a new electoral draft-law but stuck onto their demand for the nonattendance of government representatives.
The subcommittee was established in October to facilitate discussions among the rival March 8 and March 14 camps on the controversial articles of a bill approved by the cabinet in August - the electoral system and the size of the districts.
Following the Oct. 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan, the opposition boycotted all parliamentary activity and called for the formation of a salvation cabinet to oversee the polls.
Berri reiterated his rejection to the 1960 law that is based on a winner-takes-all system and considers the qada an electoral district.
The law was partly amended in 2008 and used for the 2009 elections.
The speaker told An Nahar that he also supports consensus among Christian factions on a new electoral law.
The Free Patriotic Movement of MP Michel Aoun has announced its backing to the proposal of the Lebanese Greek Orthodox community under which all sects would elect their own lawmakers and Lebanon would be one electoral district.
But the Christians of the March 14 alliance haven't yet given their consent to it although the proposal had won the backing of several Christian parties, including Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
In his remarks to An Nahar, Berri also hailed the Lebanese Army's deployment in the hotspots of the northern city of Tripoli where the latest fighting left scores of dead and injured.
“This was a necessary step” to avoid more bloodshed and to spare Tripoli economic losses, the speaker said.
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