Oghassapian Says Proportionality 'Impossible' Under 'Logic of Arms'
Al-Mustaqbal MP Jean Oghassapian said on Saturday it is impossible to reach a complete proportional representation election law in light of the spread of Hizbullah's arms.
“Everyone knows that proportional representation will not be passed in the parliament, and it is impossible to reach this representation under the logic of arms spread in specific areas,” said Oghassapian in an interview to Free Lebanon radio.
“This law will drag the country into further paralysis. We will face a problem shall we approach June 20 next year when the tenure of the parliament ends, without having a new law to stage the elections or agreeing on the term extension or staging the elections based on the 1960,” he added.
“We need political stability and we must benefit from the election of President Michel Aoun and the designation of PM Saad Hariri. We need an efficient government to restore life to the constitutional institutions,” he went on to say.
Oghassapian urged the March 8 alliance to facilitate the mission of the President, and the political parties to help Lebanon confront the regional challenges instead of wrangling over the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
Pointing to the recent speech of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah whereby he said that he was not concerned about domestic matters but regional ones, Oghassapian described it as “very dangerous.”
Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential.
Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law.
The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate.
The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Source: Naharnet
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