Hariri, Geagea in full agreement at Saudi meet

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated Tuesday their full agreement on national issues and how to deal with the upcoming challenges facing Lebanon. During their meeting at Hariri’s residence in Jeddah, which lasted two and a half hours, the two discussed the 2013 parliamentary elections as well as regional developments. LF lawmaker Antoine Zahra had explained earlier that the purpose of Geagea and Hariri’s meeting was to discuss the electoral law. “The objective of the talks is also to emphasize the ongoing alliance between the LF and Hariri’s Future Movement in light of domestic and regional developments,” Zahra said. Lebanese politicians have yet to agree on an electoral law ahead of the 2013 vote. The March 14 alliance and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt rejected the government’s draft electoral law, which would divide Lebanon into 13 medium-sized districts based on a system of proportional representation. March 14’s Christian parties have proposed a law that would divide Lebanon into 50 small districts under a winner-takes-all-system. The proposal has drawn the ire of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, who backs a law stipulating that every sect elects its own MPs, under a proportional representation system with Lebanon as a single district. The Daily Star