Report: Incessant Efforts to Unravel Electoral Law Difficulties

Ceaseless coordination between the Center House and Ain el-Tineh are ongoing in order to find a new electoral law to rule Lebanon's parliamentary polls scheduled in May, in light of looming deadlines mainly the end of the parliament's term in June, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri has intensified deliberations with various political parties in that regard, said the daily.

“PM Saad Hariri stepped up his discussions in several directions in a bid to find a way out for an agreement on an electoral file,” well-informed sources told al-Joumhouria daily.

The sources pointed out that incessant coordination between the Center House and Ain el-Tineh (Speaker Nabih Berri) are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the AMAL and Hizbullah parties have also coordinated consultations in different directions, taking into consideration all possibilities that will emerge after June 20, when the term of the Parliament ends, added the sources.

The country will have an electoral law based on “full proportional representation” before June 20, head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad, assured on Sunday.

Center House sources said contacts have picked-up momentum on more than one level in the past days, but were not announced to the media.

The same circles confirmed that the daily communications recorded "progress", and have narrowed the differences and options between the various parties working on the line of the new law.

On Sunday media reports said that Hariri will convene the ministerial panel tasked with devising a new electoral law this week with the aim of “brainstorming consensual ideas.”

A decision to reactivate the panel had been taken during Thursday's cabinet session.

President Michel Aoun said he would dissolve parliament and force elections under the 1960 electoral law should the parties fail to agree on a new law before June 20.