The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the
Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving
English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers
across the Arab world.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that
postponing the upcoming elections is “out of the question and unacceptable”,
adding that it is high time to agree on an electoral law.
Geagea told
Al-Akhbar Daily on Thursday that intensive contacts and meetings were held yesterday
to put the finishing touches on the draft election law based on smaller districts
proposed by the Lebanese Forces, its Christian allies in the Kataeb party and
March 14’s independent candidates.
“We were
preparing a draft election law and we agreed on a new draft law with our allies.
Consultations and discussions are ongoing to suggest this draft, possibly by today”,
he said.
On the differences
between the draft that the Lebanese Forces was working on and the new draft,
Geagea said that the Lebanese Forces’ draft was based on approximately 60 districts. “But
following consultations with allies, it turned out that a draft law based on
50 districts leads to the same result”, he said.
“There will be two
to three seats for every district; we want an electoral law that would be fair
for all”, he added.
On the stance of
the Future bloc regarding the smaller districts proposal, he said “the bloc’s
recent statements reflect its approval, but discussions are still ongoing on
some details”.
The spokesperson
for the Syrian Foreign Ministry Jihad Makdissi told
As-Safir Daily on Thursday that
Lebanon is Syria's “weakest link” which is currently going through
difficult times.
“We reproach our
Lebanese fellows as much as we love them; Syria and Lebanon have a lot in common,
therefore we hold high expectations for Lebanon's role”, he said.
Makdissi said
that official channels with Lebanon are open, considering that some internal
parties do not want stability in Syria. “My country understands the self-distancing
policy [adopted by the Lebanese government] but we want Lebanon to adopt this
policy positively.”
On another note,
Makdissi said that Syria is meeting all demands, stressing that the Syrian
calls for dialogue have never stopped and have always been unconditional.
On the fate
of Syria, Makdissi said that 60% of the solution lies in the hands of the
Syrian government.
A Washington delegation revealed that the U.S.
Administration has been closely following the situation in Lebanon ever since
the beginning of the Syrian crisis in order to monitor its effects on Lebanon,
both on the political and security levels.
These visitors told
Al-Joumhouria Daily on Thursday that the
U.S. will continue supporting Lebanese security apparatuses, mainly the Lebanese
Army. According to the U.S. Administration, the LAF is heading towards imposing
its authority on all Lebanese regions, even the areas whose security
responsibilities were said to be handled by Hezbollah. The visitors said that
Hezbollah’s military role has begun to decline in the face of the LAF, mainly along
the Syrian borders in the north and the Bekaa.
Meanwhile, sources told the Daily that the March 14 coalition
has recently submitted a memorandum to the U.S. Administration, to voice its
fears over the deteriorating situation on the northern border with Syria and
the recurrent attacks on towns and villages in the Bekaa and north Lebanon.
The memorandum highlighted the importance of a prompt military
intervention “to put an end to terrorism and to the attempted assassinations of
March 14 leaders.”
The memorandum also shed light on the importance of the electoral
law due to be issued shortly, mainly amid “attempts by Hezbollah and its allies
to draft a law that would guarantee them the highest number of seats,
especially for their ally MP Michel Aoun.”
The parliamentary joint committees tasked with following up
on the electoral law will start discussing today the draft election law referred
by cabinet and signed by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour at a time when
March 14’s Christians are expected to submit a draft law based on 50 electoral
districts.
In this regard, MP Georges Adwan said that all the members of
Bkerke's committee agree on the above-mentioned draft law. However, sources
from the Free Patriotic Movement and El Marada Movement told
As-Safir Daily
that members MP Alain Aoun and former minister Youssef Saadeh are unaware of this draft and have never seen it.
Berri’s stance on the electoral law
House Speaker Nabih Berri told
As-Safir newspaper on Thursday
that he called on Fouad Siniora to adopt the Taef agreement as the foundation
of any elections-related discussion. Berri voiced his rejection of an electoral
law based on smaller districts since it would, according to him”, promote
extremism in both rhetoric and behavior”.
Jumblatt’s position
As for MP Walid Jumblatt, he told
As-Safir Daily that he
rejects the electoral law based on proportional representation.
On the electoral law based on smaller districts, Jumblatt said “I
understand the fears of some Christians, but the smaller the districts is the
closer we get to the Orthodox [Gathering’s] proposal which is rejected and impossible”.
“At the time being, the best solution would be adopting the
1960's electoral law”, he concluded.
Sources
from the Future Movement
In turn, prominent sources from the Future Movement told
As-Safir Daily that the Movement considers the Taef agreement as "the original standard",
adding that an electoral law based on smaller districts would guarantee the best
representation, compared to the Orthodox proposal.