Gemayel Hints Electoral Law Crisis is Result of Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Differences
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel hinted on Sunday that the differences between the parliamentary blocs on an electoral draft-law were the result of the conflict between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement.
“The current crisis hides differences that go beyond the electoral law and paves way for discussions on the Lebanese (political) system in its entirety ... which is pushing the whole country to pay its price,” Gemayel told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in an interview.
“The problem in parliament goes beyond the 50 districts electoral draft-law or the Orthodox Gathering proposal or any other draft-law. It is about the winner-takes-all or proportional systems,” he said.
“The problem will not be resolved as long as al-Mustaqbal movement will not accept proportionality for fragmenting Sunni representation and Hizbullah and its allies will not accept the winner-takes-all system,” the former president said.
Gemayel expressed some optimism, saying “eventually a result will be achieved.”
But he warned that a new crisis could erupt in the country if the rival factions failed to agree on an electoral draft-law.
“It would be very easy for chaos to spread amid the proliferation of arms” throughout Lebanon, he told Asharq al-Awsat.
The Phalange along with the Lebanese Forces from the March 14 opposition have backed the Orthodox Gathering proposal that calls for a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs in a proportional representation system.
The Free Patriotic Movement and the Marada, two other Christian parties from the March 8 majority alliance, are already staunch supporters of the proposal.
But al-Mustaqbal and the centrist Progressive Socialist Party have rejected it for harming the social fabric.
In an attempt to appease their ally, the Phalange and the LF have reiterated that they are willing to discuss any other proposal that receives the backing of all factions to guarantee a fair representation for all the Lebanese.
Asked whether he carried out a mediation to limit the differences between the Phalange and the LF with their ally al-Mustaqbal, Gemayel said: “We keep contact with al-Mustaqbal movement and reiterate the necessity to preserve the March 14 alliance.”
“Unity amongst us is necessary to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and the public interest,” he added.
Asked about his planned visit to France, Gemayel said he will discuss with top French officials, including President Francois Hollande the electoral draft-law stalemate, the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on the country.
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