Reaching a consensus on the electoral role drove the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri to adjourn the meeting of the Parliament on Wednesday.

Reaching a consensus on the electoral role drove the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri to adjourn the meeting of the Parliament on Wednesday.

This step came after news about a deal on the electoral law between Al-Mustaqbal and Lebanese Forces have been circulated. As a reaction to the agreement between the two 14-March blocs, Berri proposed hybrid electoral law.

Berri’s proposal employs the proportional representation system to elect 64 MPs; whereas, the winner-takes-all is the system used to vote for the other 64 MPs.

14 March deal is based on electing 54% of MPs according to winner-takes-all system and 46% of MPs according to the proportional representation system. The agreement also decided to have 6 governorates and around 26 districts.

The deal is backed by MP Walid Jumblatt, head of National Struggle Front, whose parliamentary bloc refuses the Orthodox voting law that was mainly backed by the Free Patriotic Movement bloc and its allies in March 8. So, General Aoun refused the proposed law and considered that the deal showed how the Christian parties in 14 March broke their promise to support the Orthodox Vote law.

MP George Adwan, who is a member of the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, considered that the proposed law is a middle-course solution for the disagreement on the electoral law between the different parliamentary blocs. “In Bkirki meetings, we aimed at adopting Orthodox Voting law, yet when we discussed the issue with Speaker Berri, we decided to reach consensus,” he said.