Aoun: Those who Rejected Orthodox Proposal Toppled Most Important Law for Christians
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun lamented on Wednesday the political parties' failure to approve the Orthodox Gathering electoral law during a parliament session.
He said: “Some of the parties that backed the proposal abandoned it therefore toppling the most important law for Christians.”
“The same concessions that were made during the approval of the Taif Accord are being repeated today,” he noted from parliament.
“We were waiting on this historic day for a fair electoral law to be approved,” he stated.
“The constitution calls for fair and equal representation for all sides, which was not respected,” declared the MP.
Moreover, Aoun said: “We were hoping that the other camp, which opposes the proposal, would have supported it in a moment of clarity, but they didn't.”
Meanwhile, he accused the Christian parties that did not back the draft law of violating the principle of coexistence in Lebanon.
“We are concerned with offering fair representation for Christians, while the others only care about gaining more seats in parliament,” remarked the FPM leader.
Speaker Nabih Berri had called parliament to convene on Wednesday in order to vote on the Orthodox Gathering electoral, but the session was suspended over a lack of quorum.
The proposal had been rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, the Mustaqbal bloc, MP Walid Jumblat's National Struggle Front, and independent Christian MPs.
Its opponents claim that it encourages extremism and leads to more sectarianism in the country. But the March 8 alliance along with the Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party from the March 14 camp stress that the plan is the only way to guarantee the best representation of Christians.
The proposal considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.
The majority of March 14 alliance MPs and lawmakers of the National Struggle Front reached on Wednesday an agreement on a hybrid electoral draft law despite the rejection of the Phalange Party.
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