Naharnet

MP Aoun Rules Out Extension, Elections under 1960 Law, Says Polls in Summer

MP Alain Aoun of the Change and Reform bloc stressed Sunday that the parliamentary elections will not be held under the 1960 electoral law and that the extension of the parliament's term is “totally out of the question.”

“Everyone must realize that there will be no elections under the 1960 law and any extension is totally out of the question,” Aoun said.

“The elections will be held this summer and there will be a new law,” the MP added.

“I don't think that anyone wants vacuum,” Aoun went on to say.

The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has since extended its own mandate twice.

Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on the proportional representation system but al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party have both rejected the proposal.

Mustaqbal argues that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds while the PSP has warned that such an electoral system would “marginalize” the minority Druze community whose presence is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley areas.

The political parties are meanwhile discussing a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system.


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/226453