Berri: No Elections Away from Consensus on Electoral Law, Gov’t A Must

Local Editor

House Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Saturday that "we will seek, examine, and benefit from all proposed electoral law projects in order to set what we view as the appropriate draft."

In an interview with "an-Nahar" Lebanese newspaper, Berri stressed that "any electoral draft law that suggests the victory of a particular political group over another would only receive rejection from the other and so on."
"Thus, we have to agree on a law that assures all sides and does not allude to the prevalence of one side over others
In parallel, the Speaker confirmed that "based on polls, the Lebanese Forces' proposed law based on 50 small constituencies grants less number of Christian MPs compared to the government proposed draft law."

He further warned that "no elections will be held if no agreement was reached on a new electoral law."
Responding to a question of the possibility of adopting 1960's law, Berri said: " God forbids, we will never ignore the fact that the 1960 law is an anathema to the Church."
On the governmental level, Berri stressed that "this government is a must."
" I once again reiterate that the permanent government will endure until after the elections," he said.

Commenting on the security situation in Syria, the Spekaer viewed that: "it is a long story and I fear the plans to divide Syria. We hope for the end of bloody confrontations as soon as possible."


Source: an-Nahar, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org