Naharnet

Report: Premier Rejects Signing Orthodox Draft-Law if Approved by Parliament

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is holding onto his stance from the so-called Orthodox Gathering electoral draft-law, reiterating his rejection to the adoption of the proposal, media reports said on Tuesday.

Sources close to the premier pointed out in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper that he informed officials that he will not attend any parliamentary session set to vote on the Orthodox proposal.

The sources added that Miqati also insists that he will not ink the draft law, even if the required parliamentary majority was provided.

The PM slammed the Orthodox Gathering draft-law, stressing that the proposal will not be adopted as it violates the “essence of Lebanon's existence and mutual coexistence.”

The polls are likely to be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the Orthodox proposal that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees on Tuesday.

It divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.

But the proposal has been rejected by al-Mustaqbal bloc, the centrist National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat, and March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs. It has been also criticized by President Michel Suleiman.


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