Report: Al-Mustaqbal Initiative Based on 1960 Law and Orthodox Proposal for Senate
Al-Mustaqbal bloc is set to announce on Tuesday a proposal to hold this year's parliamentary polls based on the 1960 law with some amendments and establishing a senate through the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal, al-Akhbar daily reported.
The newspaper said the proposal will be made following the bloc's weekly meeting under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.
Saniora announced on Sunday that his bloc will soon propose a “comprehensive” draft-law that appeases all factions, mainly Christians.
The 1960 law, which adopts the qada as an electoral district and is based on a winner-takes-all-system, was used in the 2009 parliamentary elections after partial amendments.
Al-Mustaqbal has totally rejected the Orthodox proposal which calls for a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.
Saniora met with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Monday.
His sources told An Nahar and As Safir dailies that he briefed the president on its initiative which Hariri will announce on Thursday unlike the al-Akhbar report that said the announcement will be made Tuesday.
They said Saniora reiterated his rejection of the Orthodox proposal which “leads to the destruction of Lebanon,” saying al-Mustaqbal will not approve it even if the rest of the blocs gave their go-ahead.
The former premier informed Suleiman that al-Mustaqbal movement will continue to defend Lebanon's unity and its coexistence and made it clear that the bloc will boycott a joint parliamentary committees meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday to discuss electoral draft-laws.
The March 14 alliance announced in October its boycott of all government-related activity after it blamed the cabinet for the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hassan.
But al-Mustaqbal's March 14 allies, the Phalange and the Lebanese Forces, said they will attend Wednesday's meeting out of their keenness to agree with the rest of factions on a law that would govern the polls.
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