Report: Christian Leaders to Meet in Bkirki to Coordinate Stances ahead of Parliamentary Session
Christian leaders are expected to hold talks in Bkirki under the auspices of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to coordinate their stance over the electoral law dispute.
According to An Nahar newspaper published on Friday, the meeting will be held ahead of a parliamentary session set on May 15 to vote on the Orthodox Gathering proposal that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees.
Speaker Nabih Berri had granted political blocs until May 15 to reach an agreement over a new electoral law.
The Orthodox draft, which divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, is rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat's National Struggle Front, the Mustaqbal Movement, and independent March 14 MPs have rejected the law.
They say the proposal deepens sectarian divisions in Lebanon.
The political powers have so far failed to reach an agreement on an alternative law, threatening to postpone the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for June 16.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that al-Rahi, who is currently on a pastoral visit to South America, is holding contacts with the Christian leaders to convince them to adopt the hybrid electoral law proposed by Berri.
The daily pointed out that al-Rahi delegated bishop Samir Mazloum to the Maronite leaders to coordinate and unify their stances.
Berri's hybrid electoral law proposal calls for electing half of the lawmakers in the new parliament based on the winner-takes-all system, with the other half elected under the proportional representation system and 26 districts.
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