Beirut: The deputy head of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, Shaikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, urged politicians to produce a new electoral law that fulfils just representation, which means “the adoption of a proportional representation law considering Lebanon as a single electoral district, which allows a Muslim Lebanese to elect his Christian brother and a Christian can elect his Muslim brother in order to make Lebanon a country of true partnership without partiality to any of its components”.
Several versions of a new electoral law are under discussion in Lebanon, topped by proportionality — albeit in different versions — gaining the most traction. Proponents believe that such a law would gradually eliminate reliance on sectarianism while opponents insist that Lebanon’s socio-political make-up would make the country ungovernable because so many parties compete for their share of power. They argue that no clear majority can be elected since doing so would automatically eliminate the smaller but vital components of Lebanese society.
While the National News Agency reported Qabalan’s Friday prayer declarations — a position that was favoured by Hezbollah but rejected by the Future Movement — the head of the Phalange Party, Sami Gemayel, voiced his support for an electoral law that would create smaller constituencies, saying this would best guarantee proper representation.
While everyone was unsatisfied with the current 1960 electoral law, which divides the country into large electoral districts with a winner-takes-all feature, the Phalange, along with Future, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have all proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all systems. Even Speaker Nabih Berri suggested a hybrid law, though his percentages differ, but said his Amal Party would consider proportionality.
Only Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement favour a proportionality mechanism. Their leaders are dismissive of concerns that the party’s controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential, and that will lopsidedly favour it at the expense of smaller parties.
The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009 though there seems to be an interest to avoid a third extension of the mandate by calling for fresh poll in May 2017. It was unclear under which law, however, with politicians and clerics advancing preferred options to win — perhaps, unconditionally.
