Opposition-PSP Hybrid Vote Law Proposal Gains Momentum

A hybrid draft-law that the March 14 opposition alliance and the Progressive Socialist Party have agreed on allows the elections to take place in 26 districts based on the winner-takes-all system and 9 governorates based on proportionality, sources said Thursday.

Informed political and al-Mustaqbal bloc sources told several newspapers that the hybrid formula will be announced within the coming days.

Under the deal, 70 lawmakers would be chosen through the winner-takes-all system and 58 through proportionality based on a division of 26 districts for the first system and 9 governorates for the second.

Negotiations between opposition allies al-Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Phalange party have made a great leap forward, they said.

The LF and the Phalange had initially 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 plan has been severely criticized by al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and the opposition's independent Christian lawmakers.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat said “the technical work to find an electoral draft-law that reflects the agreement between al-Mustaqbal and the PSP in addition to an agreement that includes all the March 14 opposition factions has been completed.”

It is now time for the political work, he said in reference to negotiations between PSP chief Walid Jumblat and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Jumblat said Wednesday following a visit to Ain el-Tineh that Berri reiterated polls would only be held based on a consensus draft-law.

“This means that all groups should work together to agree on a law that combines a winner-takes-all system with proportional representation,” he told reporters.

The hybrid plan 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 new PSP-opposition proposal is close to Berri's plan under which 64 MPs would be elected in a winner-takes-all system and another 64 through proportional representation.