Beirut: Lebanese politicians held last minute bargaining over the proposed electoral law, both to reconcile divergent viewpoints among warring parties, and to conserve perceived gains.
A few days ago, President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri agreed that the new electoral law should be fully based on proportional representation with 15 electoral districts, although they are still wrangling over the mechanisms related to the best representation of various sects.
Local newspapers hinted that negotiations were ongoing and that a final version will overcome new hurdles, including the percentage each candidate needs to win an electoral seat in any district, the method of a preferential vote, the duration of a technical extension of parliament’s term, vote tallying procedures and granting Lebanese expatriates six parliamentary seats as demanded by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).
These were not minor obstacles, as any one of which could block a final accord, though everyone was conscious that the June 20 deadline — when the term of the current parliament expires — loomed over the horizon.
According to a statement issued by Baabda Palace, the President was in a mood to compromise, and hoped to submit the final draft to the Cabinet, which would then refer it to parliament.
Michel Aoun was confident that the new law reflected the “true representation to the constituents of Lebanese society”, and that he was ready to salvage what can be rescued, precisely to avoid a fallback to the much-maligned 1960 winner-take-all formula.
Because disputes lingered, a final electoral law has not been agreed upon, which may force the Speaker to postpone yet again a scheduled legislative session set for next Monday. A few days ago, Nabih Berri told his weekly party gathering that it is a “must to agree on a draft, endorse it, and hold a parliamentary session with it as the only agenda item”. He was fearful that unprecedented regional developments could drag Lebanon to lose the opportunity to settle this critical internal matter.
Whether various behind-the-scene meetings, including last Tuesday night gathering at Hariri’s residence, would settle differences that emerged after a series of demands made by FPM leader Jibran Bassil, remained to be seen. Hariri left for Saudi Arabia on Thursday but could still call a special Cabinet session before Monday to endorse a proposal and send it to parliament if a final deal is reached.
It was unclear why Bassil raised his latest demands, but these revolve around 4 specific items: guarantee that six parliamentary seats would be allocated for members of the diaspora without adding to the 128 existing parliamentary seats (which means stripping six seats from current deputies); grant military personnel the right to vote (which is not available now); move Christian seats from certain districts in favour of locations where Christians are the majority; and create a preferential vote on the basis of sectarian majorities.
Speaker Berri vehemently opposed Bassil’s demands and rejected any conditions that will hold the political agreement he reached with Aoun and Hariri hostage to yet another stipulation, namely that parliament reconfirm parity between Muslims and Christians in a constitutional text, as Lebanon creates a Senate as postulated by the 1989 Taif Accords.
At this late hour, sticking points over the eligibility of candidates to run and the diaspora vote prevented optimists to celebrate, though Lebanon — which has not organised parliamentary elections since 2009 — itched for a workable political solution to avert another prolonged crisis.
