Quorum of Parliamentary Session in Hands of LF and Phalange
The fate of a parliamentary session scheduled to be held on Wednesday to discuss a new electoral draft-law is unclear over the lack of final stances on the participation of two blocs from the March 14 alliance.
The Phalange and the Lebanese Forces are emerging the major players in guaranteeing a needed quorum of 65 MPs for the session.
Media reports said that if the March 8 coalition's 58 members attend the general assembly – an unlikely move over the lack of support of four supporters - along with the LF, which has eight representatives in the parliament but two of them are abroad, they would still not be able to guarantee a quorum.
So the ball is in the court of the Phalange, whose stance is also unclear. The reports said that one of its members, MP Nadim Gemayel, has informed the party leadership that he would join al-Mustaqbal, the National Struggle Front, the March 14's independent Christian lawmakers, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and caretaker Minister of State Ahmed Karami in boycotting the session.
Speaker Nabih Berri has put the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal as the sole item on the agenda despite heavy criticism from several March 14 blocs.
His move came after MPs failed during a meeting of parliament's bureau to agree on the items that should be placed on the agenda.
The Orthodox plan is the only draft-law approved by the joint parliamentary committees. But it is severely criticized by the parties which have announced that they would boycott the four consecutive sessions that start on Wednesday.
The proposal considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.
Its opponents claim that it encourages extremism and leads to more sectarianism in the country. But the March 8 alliance along with the LF and Phalange from March 14 stress that the plan is the only way to guarantee the best representation of Christians.
The 1960 law, which is based on the winner-takes-all system and was used in the 2009 elections, has marginalized Christians, they say.
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