Parliamentary Subcommittee to Hold 2nd Meeting in Test of Intentions on Vote Law

A parliamentary subcommittee agreed on Tuesday to hold more meetings to set the stage for further discussions between rival lawmakers on an electoral draft-law, its chairman MP Robert Ghanem said.

“We will meet at 11:00 am Thursday and decide after it or after a few more meetings to take further steps towards reaching a deal on a vote law or call it quits,” Ghanem said after the subcommittee held what he dubbed an unofficial session at parliament.

“It was our duty after the major progress that we had reached during previous meetings to take a step forward and evaluate the past stage,” he said.

The lawmaker had earlier told An Nahar daily that Tuesday's meeting was only aimed at holding consultations.

The results of the meeting will show whether there is an intention or a chance to agree on a new vote law, he said. “If there are bad intentions then we will not reach any result.”

Discussions will be limited to a hybrid proposal that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, the lawmaker added.

The subcommittee's meetings came to a standstill in February when its members failed to reach an agreement on the hybrid proposal with some parties calling for a higher percentage of MPs elected under the winner-takes-all system and others seeking for a higher representation under the proportional representation system.

The subcommittee referred its report to the joint parliamentary committees, which later adopted the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal despite the objection of al-Mustaqbal bloc, the National Struggle Front and the March 14 alliance's independent Christian MPs.

But the plan was earlier this month brought to a standstill by its supporters – the four major Christian parties – during a meeting they held under Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

The Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange party and the Marada movement suspended the proposal in a bid to give rival groups a chance to agree on an alternative law.

But they also vowed not to run for elections under the 1960 law that was used in the 2009 polls with some amendments.

The subcommittee was formed in October to agree on a new electoral law over the rejection of the majority of political parties of the 1960 law, which considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.