March 14 Lawmaker Says Electoral Subcommittee Meetings 'Not Waste of Time'

March 14 MP Marwan Hamadeh considered on Monday that the electoral subcommittee meetings are to witness the exchange of viewpoints among the rival political parties over which electoral law to adopt during the upcoming polls.

“If the electoral subcommittee meetings were a waste of time, we wouldn't have set more than one session,” Hamadeh said in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

He pointed out that the Orthodox Gathering proposal will not have the majority’s approval in the parliament, saying: “If we failed to agree on a common draft law then we will discuss the possibility of adopting a proposal close to the Butros Committee draft law.”

The electoral subcommittee is scheduled to convene on Tuesday after the opposition agreed to Speaker Nabih Berri's proposal of residing in a hotel near the parliament building in downtown Beirut, as a safety precaution.

On Sunday, The Christian four-party committee on the electoral law agreed to endorse the electoral system proposed by the so-called Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elect its own lawmakers.

The panel comprises representatives from the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange Party and the Marada Movement.

“The 1960s law, which was completely rejected by Bkirki, still has a hope if we modify some districts,” Hamadeh said, noting that politicians can't disregard this option due to the complex Lebanese texture.

The government approved in August an electoral bill based on proportional representation and 13 districts, but it was met with the opposition's rejection, which deemed it as being tailored to the March 8 majority alliance's interests.

The lawmaker stated that the Butros Committee proposal can't be adopted during the upcoming polls as citizens require to be thoroughly informed about its prospects.

The Butros Committee draft law, which was headed by former Foreign Minister Fouad Butros in 2005, has combined in its proposal the proportional representation and winner-takes-all systems.