Lebanon's government has to set the date for next election by March 11 The electoral sub-committee of the Lebanese parliament concluded its meetings on Wednesday without an agreement on the country's new parliamentary elections' law .
"The joint parliamentary committees will convene next Tuesday to tackle the sub-committee report and refer it to speaker Nabih Berri," MP Robert Ghanem said after the talks, explaining that the lawmakers have reached conclusions over a number of issues about the electoral law, tackling the hybrid proposal in particular, which combines the first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems.
Ghanem said it is up to Berri to decide whether to refer the report to parliamentary joint committees.
The sub-committee was formed in a bid to achieve consensus among rival groups on electoral legislation. It discussed four draft laws, the last of which would combine proportional representation with a first-past-the-post system.
However, Lebanese MPs speaking after Ghanem highlighted the divisions over the electoral draft law. MP Alain Aoun, from Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, said that the country would be heading toward an "open-ended crisis" if parliament did not convene to vote on the Orthodox Gathering draft law. The draft law allows every sect to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system. "The Orthodox proposal has won a majority of votes [in the sub-committee] and we consider this to be the main achievement of the sub-committee," he said."We consider this draft law to be constitutional and in line with the National Pact; it should be put to a vote in parliament. If parliament does not convene for any reason, then we are heading towards an open-ended crisis which will have a major impact on the political system."
Aoun warned that March 11 is the deadline for Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to call for elections.
Meanwhile, al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat insisted on the bloc's rejection of both the Orthodox Gathering and proportional representation draft laws, explaining that their position stems from "a commitment to co-existence and the constitution".
Fatfat said: "Some sides are deluded in believing that they can impose their own electoral law on us but we reject threats and intimidation".
Phalange bloc MP Sami Gemayel restated his party's willingness to discuss and adopt any electoral law that ensures real representation, adding that any deal should not be made at the expense of Christians. "We will accept an alternative to the Orthodox Gathering draft if it garners the support of the majority of MPs," Gemayel said.
MP George Adwan from the Lebanese Forces Party, said that he was satisfied with the "frank" nature of talks. "We will keep on searching for alternatives to the Orthodox proposal on condition that it in turn offers fair representation," he said, expressing that their goal is to grant the rights of all factions and "to ease all concerns."
Commenting on the hybrid law, Adwan said combining the first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems does not offer proper representation."We must also address the issue of electoral districts in this suggestion," he noted.
Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Serge Torsarkissian rejected the Orthodox Gathering proposal, explaining that it is "destined to fail because it will face problems at the joint parliamentary committees".
A strong verbal dispute broke out after the sub-committee meeting between Fatfat and Aoun, after the al-Mustaqbal representative accused the latter of "failing to voice his position over any of the proposals in order to obstruct any agreement other than one on the Orthodox proposal."