Oghassapian Says Proportionality 'Impossible' Under 'Logic of Arms'
Al-Mustaqbal MP Jean Oghassapian said on Saturday it is impossible to reach a complete proportional representation election law in light of the spread of Hizbullah's arms.
“Everyone knows that proportional representation will not be passed in the parliament, and it is impossible to reach this representation under the logic of arms spread in specific areas,” said Oghassapian in an interview to Free Lebanon radio.
“This law will drag the country into further paralysis. We will face a problem shall we approach June 20 next year when the tenure of the parliament ends, without having a new law to stage the elections or agreeing on the term extension or staging the elections based on the 1960,” he added.
“We need political stability and we must benefit from the election of President Michel Aoun and the designation of PM Saad Hariri. We need an efficient government to restore life to the constitutional institutions,” he went on to say.
Oghassapian urged the March 8 alliance to facilitate the mission of the President, and the political parties to help Lebanon confront the regional challenges instead of wrangling over the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
Pointing to the recent speech of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah whereby he said that he was not concerned about domestic matters but regional ones, Oghassapian described it as “very dangerous.”
Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential.
Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law.
The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate.
The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
17 December 2016, 14:01
51
what logic of arms? if hezbollah was using a "logic of arms" as you claim, they would have lined all of you up against a wall, ouwwet style, and you would have voted every law they told you to. Instead they're using a logic of discussions, negotiations and compromise, and that's why you're so comfortable making all these allegations and incitement.
17 December 2016, 16:19
33
just like the syrian regime in lebanon: they never used the logic of arms to coerce lebanese politicians into doing as ordered... aoun must have made that up too....
17 December 2016, 20:45
11
proportionnal votes in my opinion is not adapted to a country like lebanon where there are too many sects, factions, parties... it leads to political unstability; just see by urself what happens to countries where it is used: no political stability, always in need to compromise to change gvts and so on! lebanon needs stability and a HUGE change of the mentalities before!
17 December 2016, 20:50
11
it seems you did not do any research as i told you too in a previous posts... all your attention goes to mustaqbal and whether if i support them or not, which i don't care about at all! i talk out of my own opinion, not a partisan one!
so see if proportianal vote is adapted to lebanon and why hezbis want it that fiercly... because it suits their interests to have an unstable political country then it stays weak and they can do whateveer they want...
you need something else like a mix between majority and proportional that suits lebanese situation and reality...
17 December 2016, 17:52
22
Yes Mowateh! Very true. They use the logic of discussion... until they disagree with you... and then, you get paralysis of the government, paralysis of the state, May 8th, adventures in Syria, war with Israel, threats, red lines, assassinations... oh sure... they discuss a lot... and their weapons... turned against Israel ONLY... as they always said...lol.
17 December 2016, 20:45
10
the paralysis of the government was a result from all sides not agreeing and all sides refusing top budge from their positions. the blame game can go both ways equally.
as for the other "files" you open we could spend years discussing them and not agree (actually we already have), so i wont get into the details but you know I see things very differently.
17 December 2016, 20:47
10
if you were lebanese you would have not had a second of doubt what I was referring to.
17 December 2016, 21:11
11
Dude, what do you smoke? Ouwwet submitted their weapons to the state 10+ yrs ago! It is only fanatics like hizbollah or ISIS created by your actions that there is an equal and opposite reaction and that threatens peace in the Middle East, there was one enemy before, but now all regional states are divided and hizbollah as its leader says does not care about Lebanon but rather regional wars. Why? Because the arms and money are induced into your system from outside the country. When the president of the state you live in asked you to disassociate from regional wars and have Lebanon as number 1 priority you accused him of caring about wood and you are golden...you serve another master and not loyal to this state that you live in because without the region and Syria/Iran you are worried that you can't protect yourselves
17 December 2016, 21:46
10
ISIS created by "our" actions? I think you mistook me for an american. ISIS is a splinter group of al qaeda in iraq, which was imported by the US regime change there, and which came from afghanistan, where the US originally created it.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/04/20/the-cias-founding-of-al-qaeda-documented/
accusing others of creating ISIS is the summum of hypocrisy.
17 December 2016, 16:13
24
or when hezbi threatened any shiia to replace the 3 resigning ministers under sinioura gvt and issued a fatwa LOL
