Nasrallah Calls for 'Improving Electoral Law', Agrees to Defense Strategy Talks

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday called for “improving” the current electoral law while declaring that his party does not have “reservations” over President Michel Aoun's call for post-polls defense strategy talks.

“The upcoming elections represent a serious opportunity for the Lebanese people to re-produce their national authorities,” said Nasrallah in a televised address to announce his party's electoral platform.

He said Hizbullah's platform includes “improving the electoral law, especially in terms of turning Lebanon into a single electoral district and lowering the voting age to 18.”

The new electoral law, approved last year after years of political wrangling, is based on a complex proportional representation system and 15 electoral districts. It replaces the winner-takes-all system that had governed Lebanon's elections since 1943.

Hizbullah had long called for an electoral law based on proportional representation and a single electoral district.

Separately, Nasrallah said Hizbullah's MPs “will work to provide the necessary capabilities to strengthen the security and military institutions, topped by the Lebanese Army.”

“The necessary funds must be provided to enable them to perform their missions in defending Lebanon,” he emphasized.

“The judicial system must be developed so that the judiciary becomes an independent authority,” Nasrallah added.

And calling for “creating a planning ministry,” Nasrallah underlined that Hizbullah's ministers “will not agree to any outsourcing agreement without a tendering process.”

“It seems that the country's financial situation is dangerous... This danger may pose an existential threat to the state and the country should this situation persist,” the Secretary-General warned.

He announced that Hizbullah will form “a special unit tasked with confronting corruption and the waste of public money.”

“We commit to keep our organization and party clean and uninvolved in any corruption,” Nasrallah pledged.

“Those who have any suspicions of corruption against Hizbullah should present them (to the authorities). We will hold accountable anyone implicated in corruption and graft,” he added.

“I will personally follow up on the issue of combating corruption, because we are entering a dangerous period,” Nasrallah vowed.

Hizbullah's chief noted that the new electoral law is “an opportunity for better representation for our allies and friends.”

“But if our allies don't show modesty, the result will be failure. I call on everyone to show modesty and to offer concessions in order to reach agreements,” Nasrallah urged.

He also noted that the electoral differences will not affect the “strategic” political alliance between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.

“As for Hizbullah and the FPM, there is central communication and our political relation is still ongoing. We might disagree over some files but we have not become a single political party,” Nasrallah said.

“We will cooperate with the Free Patriotic Movement after the elections,” he stressed.

Turning to Aoun's call for defense strategy talks, Nasrallah said the president “has the right to call for talks over a national defense strategy.”

“We do not have any reservations over this call, especially that it came from President Aoun,” he said.

The issue of Hizbullah's arsenal of arms has long been a thorny issue in Lebanon.

Comments 7
Thumb shab 21 March 2018, 22:18

We now have an Iranian and a Syrian national party

Thumb EagleDawn 21 March 2018, 22:38

The day this evil iranian sectarian terrorist is brutally and violently murdered is the day we celebrate our true independence.

Thumb EagleDawn 21 March 2018, 22:44

When Southern (Patriotic) takes a road and the road ends, Southern continues>>>>>>>>>>>> and falls off the cliff.

Thumb ashtah 21 March 2018, 23:12

1 hour ago: Nasrallah: I have not said that the rival lists in Baalbek-Hermel are the lists of Daesh and al-Nusra.

5 days ago: Nasrallah: We Won't Let Nusra, IS Allies Represent Baalbek-Hermel
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/243584-nasrallah-we-won-t-let-nusra-is-allies-represent-baalbek-hermel

Thumb warrior 22 March 2018, 02:11

that's what these iranian hezbollah trolls do: multiple accounts, fake accounts, pretending to be Christians or atheists, etc. This troll southern is obvious to everybody except to itself.

Missing servant-of-jesus 22 March 2018, 12:56

What happened to the Fneish brother who was selling expired meds?

Thumb chrisrushlau 22 March 2018, 18:53

I agree with whatever you just said. If he was a true Lebanese, his first demand would be the amendement of the Constitution's Article 24 to remove its reservation of half of Parliament's seats for Christians, who are about a quarter of the population; more than half of all Lebanese are Shia Muslims, according to Noam Chomsky. That aspect of the "Taef Accord" (but who in fact ever agreed to this deal?) makes each Christian voter's vote worth three Muslims' votes. But how does the government know who is Christian, Muslim, a Red Sox fan, or anything else? If you want stability, empower the people.