Jumblat, Harb Play Down Prospect of March 14-PSP Deal on Vote Law

An optimism by al-Mustaqbal movement on consensus among the opposition factions and the centrist Progressive Socialist Party on an electoral draft-law was played down on Wednesday by both PSP chief Walid Jumblat and March 14 opposition MP Butros Harb.

“There is nothing final yet on the electoral draft-law,” Jumblat told An Nahar newspaper.

Harb, who was at the head of a delegation of March 14 independent MPs that visited Jumblat on Tuesday, also said that statements about agreements were “exaggerated.”

“Differences remain,” he told An Nahar, adding “this requires more efforts” to reach consensus on the draft-law.

Their remarks came after several al-Mustaqbal lawmakers expressed optimism on Tuesday that the March 14 alliance and the PSP would reach an agreement on a draft-law.

Both MP Ahmed Fatfat and Khodr Habib said a hybrid formula is expected to be announced soon but only after it receives the backing of all the March 14 opposition factions.

The hybrid plan that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems was first proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri. But he announced last week that he was withdrawing it from discussion after the March 8 majority alliance led by Hizbullah and the March 14 coalition failed to reach agreement on it.

The joint parliamentary committees have approved the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.

But the proposal has been severely criticized by al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and the opposition's independent Christian lawmakers.

Berri has so far refrained from calling for a parliamentary session to approve it to grant rival parties more time to reach consensus on another draft-law.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Nuhad al-Mashnouq visited on Tuesday Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who has backed the Orthodox proposal, as part of the efforts exerted to agree on the vote law.

“We focused (in our talks) on the alliance of the March 14 factions,” al-Mashnouq told An Nahar after differences emerged between the opposition's different parties and mainly al-Mustaqbal on one side and the LF and Phalange on the other following the two parties' vote in favor of the Orthodox proposal in the joint parliamentary committees meeting last month.

As the rival parties are exerting efforts to strike a deal that appeases major factions and guarantees the best representation of the Lebanese, President Michel Suleiman’s decree calling for the parliamentary elections to be held on time drew criticism from the March 8 majority alliance MPs who announced on Tuesday that the move was an attempt to resurrect the 1960 law which considers the qada as an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.

The decree was also signed by Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Despite the ire of the March 8 majority, Jumblat and Geagea told As Safir that the move made by Suleiman and Miqati was a legal and administrative procedure.

“It's essential for us to reach agreement on a consensus draft-law that would help the country come out of the vacuum,” Jumblat said.

Geagea expressed a similar viewpoint, stressing that the 1960 law is dead.

In other remarks to al-Akhbar daily, Jumblat sad he will meet with Berri on Thursday to discuss with him the vote low controversy.

He described the hybrid plan of Berri as “Hizbullah's proposal.”

Jumblat stressed that he will boycott any parliamentary session that discusses the Orthodox proposal or any other draft-law that hasn't garnered the consensus of all the parties.