MP Abi Ramia to LBCI: Friday’s session might witness amendments of new vote law

Change and Reform bloc MP Simon Abi Ramia said on Thursday that he rejects the third extension of the Parliament’s mandate, adding that the Free Patriotic Movement ministers were adamant on holding the parliamentary polls next September or October.

Abi Ramia’s comments were made during an interview with Nharkom Said TV show whereby he said that when Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq notified them that the implementation of some reforms, such as the introduction of the magnetic voting cards, needs time, they were convinced by the extension.

 

He also noted that discussions may continue during the next parliamentary session over the vote law, adding that amendments of the mentioned law might be done.

Abi Ramia concluded by voicing regrets that the voting age is not 18.

Lebanon is likely to hold long-delayed elections in May 2018, ministers said on Wednesday, after the cabinet approved a new law for a legislative vote that has spared the country a major political crisis.

Recent disputes over an election law that is at the heart of the nation's sectarian political system had pushed Lebanon to the brink of crisis, threatening to leave it without a parliament for the first time.

The new law will extend parliament's term by almost a year until next May, avoiding a legislative vacuum when the chamber's current term ends on June 20.

It will create a proportional representation system for parliament and alter the number of districts from which lawmakers are elected, among other changes.

Lebanon's rival parties agreed this week on the draft electoral law after months of political wrangling, paving the way for the first elections in eight years.

Parliament has extended its own mandate twice since current lawmakers were elected in 2009 for what was meant to be a four-year term.

Sectarian divisions have long plagued politics in Lebanon, exacerbated by the Syrian conflict and complicated by rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back different groups in the country. Lebanese activists accuse politicians of using regional upheaval as an excuse to dodge elections.

Politicians had been unable to agree on a new law for years because of fundamental disagreements between the parties, including over representation and how to conduct the vote.

Most political parties had rejected holding new legislative elections based on the existing system, a sectarian-based law that dates back to 1960.