Kataeb Says Fight over Size of Representation Obstructs Accord on Electoral Law

The Kataeb party deplored the political parties' failure to agree on a new electoral law, saying the hurdles obstructing the process are a result of conflicts between authority partners on the size of their sects' representation in the new parliament, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

“The party refuses any attempt to change the nature of the current problem in Lebanon," Kataeb sources told the daily.

"What is being deliberated is not an attempt to produce a better electoral law than the current (1960 majoritarian) one. It is a game between current power partners about the size of their sects (to be represented in the future parliamentary elections),” they said on condition of anonymity.

“Lebanon is witnessing a disruption of the political and constitutional life aimed at creating the appropriate conditions for smuggling more deals and brokering. And for re-producing the current authority itself, through an electoral settlement with multiple scenarios, ending in the extension of the current power structure (parliament) and its symbols, to cut the road short on accountability,” they added.

The sources called for a radical change in the “mentality of governing” and called for the “formation of a new political class produced by the Lebanese public opinion and simulating the hopes of young people."