Hezbollah: proportional representation only fair system

Deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said he supported an electoral law based on proportional representation, rejecting the March 14 coalition’s suggestion of an electoral law based on small electoral constituencies, the National News agency reported. “We are in dire need of fair elections that offer equal chances to all parties, and that can only be achieved through the proportional representation system,” said Qassem. The draft law, approved by the cabinet in August, would divide Lebanon into 13 medium-sized districts based on a proportional representation system. The Hezbollah official also slammed the March 14 Christian parties who presented a draft electoral law to Cabinet earlier this week based on 50 small electoral constituencies. “Such suggestion is an attempt to go backward... The law based on 50 electoral constituencies is even worse than the current 1960 electoral law,” said Qassem. The Joint Parliamentary Committees held a meeting Thursday to discuss the electoral draft law approved by the Cabinet, in addition to other electoral law proposals. However, some remarks made by politicians at the end of the session revealed that a political consensus has yet to be reached on a suitable law for the upcoming 2013 polls. The Daily Star