Al-Rahi Hopes for Consensus on Fair Vote Law, Type of Cabinet
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed hope on Sunday that there would be consensus among the Lebanese on a fair electoral law and on the formation of the new government.
“I hope that the coming days would bring consensus on a new electoral law that is fair … and guarantees for all the citizens the best representation in parliament,” said al-Rahi in his sermon during a mass attended by Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun and members of his Change and Reform bloc.
The patriarch rejects the 1960 law which considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system. The law is considered not to provide a good representation for Christians.
Al-Rahi also hoped for consensus on “the type” of the government and its formation, a day after MP Tammam Salam was tasked with forming the new cabinet.
Salam said Saturday he would do his best to form a "national interest government," a process that could take time because of the sharp divisions between the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance and the March 14 coalition.
Al-Rahi telephoned Salam on Saturday night to wish him success. He also hoped for a swift cabinet formation, said the state-run National News Agency.
Al-Rahi, who travels to France on Monday for talks with top officials, said in his sermon he would later visit the Lebanese expatriates in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Colombia.
He would then travel to Rome and return to Lebanon end of May.
The Central News Agency said that al-Rahi would visit President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace before his trip to Europe and Latin America.
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