Adwan Submits Hybrid Electoral Law amid Minor Reservations

Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan on Friday said he submitted a new draft electoral law to the parliamentary electoral subcommittee, noting that its members only voiced minor reservations over his proposal.

“I submitted a proposal on behalf of the Lebanese Forces that reflects all the remarks, demands and concerns voiced by the MPs throughout this period,” Adwan said after the subcommittee's meeting on Friday afternoon.

The lawmaker said his proposal does not involve a new distribution of electoral districts, stressing that it ensures “proper representation” and takes certain concerns into consideration.

“Some groups have certain concerns and the distribution of seats takes that into consideration,” Adwan added.

He said minorities have “the concern of proper representation,” adding that “the various parties voiced remarks and I'm not worried because all remarks can be addressed.”

“I promised the colleagues to introduce amendments because they don't contradict with the basis and principles of the proposal,” Adwan added.

“We tried all the possible options and we must evaluate all the draft laws while taking into consideration political balance and proper Christian representation and our draft law would secure 56 seats for Christians,” he went on to say.

The lawmaker added that he will inform Speaker Nabih Berri of the outcome of his deliberations on Saturday, voicing optimism that his proposal will achieve consensus.

And as he denied that the LF has changed its stance on the draft electoral law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elects its own representatives, Adwan said the bloc does not mind seeking a law that ensures proper representation in a similar manner if it can achieve consensus among all parties.

Earlier on Friday, head of the subcommittee, MP Robert Ghanem, said the MPs will study Saturday “all the remarks voiced by all the colleagues, starting from MP Ali Bazzi to MP Adwan, so that we can take a unanimous decision.”

“In the afternoon, we will draft the main points of the report that will be submitted to the joint committees,” he added.

“If we managed to reach a common proposal, that would be an achievement, and if we failed to reach something, we would submit the report according to the conclusions we reach on Saturday morning,” Ghanem said.