Opposition Exerting Efforts to Unify Stance on Electoral Draft-Law

March 14 officials will hold intense talks next week to unite their stance on President Michel Suleiman's blueprint on a national defense strategy and an electoral law that satisfies all the opposition parties, a March 14 opposition told al-Mustaqbal daily Sunday.

Some opposition officials have already made several proposals and meetings are being held to discuss them, al-Mustaqbal and An Nahar newspapers said.

Suleiman proposed during a national dialogue session last Thursday a defense strategy that allows Hizbullah to keep its weapons but place them under the command of the Lebanese army.

The dailies said more talks will be held next week to agree on an electoral draft law that would be deemed satisfactory by the opposition’s different factions.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat, who is tasked with coordinating the talks, told An Nahar that March 14 Christians and Walid Jumblat's centrist Progressive Socialist Party are nearing a deal on the draft law.

He said he has held meetings in the past few days with Minister Wael Abu Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan and Phalange lawmaker Sami Gemayel.

The government approved last month an electoral draft-law that divides Lebanon into 13 medium sized districts based on proportional representation. But the law has drawn criticism from al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and the Christian parties of the opposition – mainly the LF and the Phalange.

The main focus of the different parties is the adoption of a law that reconsiders the government's division of the districts in a way that appeases Christians, Fatfat said.

The proposal is to increase the number of lawmakers that would be chosen by Christian electorates, he added.