REPORT: Gemayel says new vote law is full of mistakes

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Kataeb party leader Sami Gemayel asserted that there is a sort of “deformation” for the proportionality in the new vote law through the adoption of the preferential vote in the district and the lack of unified standards.

“The new electoral law is full of mistakes,” he added.

Gemayel’s comments were made during a press conference one day after the Lebanese Cabinet approved the long-delayed vote law.

He also voiced rejection to the lack of a quota for women’s representation and limiting the Lebanese diaspora with six seats.

“What is your problem with women?” he added.

On another note, Gemayel slammed the use of the magnetic voting cards, saying that it facilitates fraud and bribes.

“The magnetic voting cards can be seized by some sides to prevent the Lebanese people from voting, they also serve as an excuse for the extension,” he added.

Gemayel concluded by stressing that the Kataeb party “will run for the parliamentary elections and will win.”

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.

LBCI/REUTERS

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