Berri Rejects Extension: I Won't Endorse a Law that Dismays a Certain Sect
Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday reiterated his “categorical rejection of extending the parliament's term,” describing it as “the worst” choice.
“A law based on proportional representation is Lebanon's salvation,” Berri told a delegation from the Press Syndicate, as he criticized the 1960 electoral law “that keeps the situation as it is in parliament, eliminates independent voices and does not ensure correct representation.”
“Until now, no agreement has been reached over a certain law, but there are intensives discussions and meetings to reach an agreement over a new electoral law,” Berri added.
And emphasizing that any electoral law “should enjoy the consensus of all parties,” the speaker vowed that he “will not endorse a law that dismays a certain sect.”
He also warned that “failure to agree on a law will create a rift in the country.”
Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, have rejected the proposal, arguing that Hizbullah's weapons would prevent serious competition in the Iran-backed party's strongholds.
Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the PSP had proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems but the PSP eventually withdrew its support for the proposal.
Berri has also proposed a hybrid law.
The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
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