Suleiman Holds onto Proportionality but Leaves Door Open for District Amendment
President Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that he is committed to proportional representation for the parliamentary electoral law, saying that the majority of the Lebanese supported this proposal.
He hoped that parliament would address the possibility of adopting small electoral districts during the elections “in order to garner the support of as many sides as possible.”
He also hoped that parliament would complete the electoral law soon in order for it to prepare discussions on decentralized administration, “which the government will begin addressing soon.”
In addition, Suleiman did not rule out the possibility of reconsidering the mechanism of expatriate voting in the parliamentary elections.
The new electoral, based on proportional representation and 13 electoral districts, has allowed expatriates to vote within one district.
The president later held talks at Beiteddine Beiteddine with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly on the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon and its cooperation with the army.
The daily An Nahar Thursday reported that Suleiman supports proportional representation as the best system that preserves the right of Christians and the role of minorities but leaves the door open for changes in the electoral districts of a new draft law.
His sources told An Nahar daily that Suleiman “is fully convinced of proportionality” and believes that the “national and Christian interest lies in adopting proportionality … that would contain any demographic development and preserve the right of minorities.”
The March 14 opposition alliance severely criticized the draft law, saying the cabinet had divided the districts unfairly in favor of the Hizbullah-led March 8 majority coalition.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, a centrist, also lashed out at the cabinet for adopting the draft-law, saying it should have been discussed in the presence of a strong and sovereign state.
almost 13 years
FT stop your BS
this is not about proportionality, this is about hizbushaitan and fpm tailoring a aw so they can win.
this is about thwarting expat vote (what does it mean to have a district 14 with 6 MPs divided over six sectes?) while Christians were counting on expat vote to adjust representation?
please stop your useless BS.
almost 13 years
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely", our evil overlords the Party of Terror and Intimidation, will do, say, bomb, threaten, cheat, lie, fabricate, explain, justify, rationalize, kill, and deceive everyone and anyone to keep its power and hegemony over the rest of us.
almost 13 years
I see that no one seems to understand the concept of proportionality.
A few cases where proportionality actually helps tackle the perennial corruption of Lebanese elections:
If a district offers 10 seats, and an independent/third party list gets 10 percent of the vote, they get 1 seat. 10% of the electorate will actually be represented that way.
If one of the two sides brings in a few thousand people from abroad to vote for their list, or they change the demographic make up of a constituency, or even bribe the electorate, the influence would be minimal.
Most seats, at least in the competitive districts, where decided by less than 10% in 2009, which actually increases cases of vote buying and other forms of corruption.
Now the districting may be unfair (ideally, one district with other secular reforms in the long run), but proportionality will finally encourage all parties to adopt non-sectarian rhetoric, and it will decrease the influence of the feudal leaders.
almost 13 years
what to expect from a traitor like you sold out to the iranians.
hopeless case....
almost 13 years
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely", our evil overlords the Party of Terror and Intimidation, will do, say, bomb, threaten, cheat, lie, fabricate, explain, justify, rationalize, kill, and deceive to keep its power and hegemony over the rest of us.
you made a deadly choice for which nobody will forgive you: since you know the districts are carved to suit m8 and not minorities as this law should have done, why did you accept to pass it this way?
why did you accept this law in regard to the expat vote that excludes them this way?
now your comments are no more acceptable and you clearly show the Lebanese people that you are not fit as a president.