Report: PSP Says Mountains' Coexistence More Important than Parliament Seats

The Progressive Socialist Party renewed rejection of the so-called qualification electoral system saying it harms coexistence between different sects in the Mountains region, the pan Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Saturday.

PSP sources said a sectarian qualification voting system “blasts everything achieved in the Mountain's diversity between various sects. It harms reconciliation, consolidation, coexistence and partnership between different families. This is more important to us than having more or less seats at the parliament.”

The sources added saying that Speaker Nabih Berri understands their position well.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil announced lately that the political parties have reached a “preliminary agreement” over a new electoral law.

The system had been initially proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri several months ago before being eventually endorsed by Bassil.

In the first round, voting takes place in the current 26 districts and voters are not allowed to vote for candidates from other sects. Two candidates for each sectarian seat qualify for the second round during which voting would take place in 10 newly-defined electoral districts and according to a non-sectarian proportional representation polling system.

The second round's ten districts are Akkar, North, Baalbek-Hermel, Zahle-West Bekaa, Northern Mount Lebanon (Jbeil, Keserwan, Metn, Baabda), Southern Mount Lebanon (Chouf and Aley), Beirut 1 (Ashrafieh, Rmeil, Medawwar, Marfa, Saifi, Bashoura), Beirut 2 (Ras Beirut, Dar el-Mreisseh, Mina el-Hosn, Zoqaq el-Blat, Mazraa, Mousaitbeh), South (Sidon, Tyre, Zahrani, Jezzine), and Nabatiyeh (Nabatiyeh, Bint Jbeil, Marjeyoun, Hasbaya).