Lebanese should unite to reject 1960 electoral law
Dean of the National Bloc Carlos Eddé undermined both the 1960 and 2000 electoral laws as they did not guarantee fair representation and would block the advancement of democracy in Lebanon.
Eddé said the current electoral system was tailored to leaders who chose their candidates on the basis of factors such as money and the number of votes they would secure, and not according to their electoral platform or personal values.
“We never changed our positions to adopt the Doha Agreement’s recommendations on the electoral law, which are dangerous due to the fact that not all national parties were present,” he noted.
Eddé said his father, then-Interior Minister Raymond Eddé, had presented a draft to the cabinet in 1959 supporting the division of constituencies and had introduced women’s right to suffrage, emigrants’ right to vote, and a number of other topics currently under study for electoral reform.
Eddé added that his bloc had rejected the 1960 electoral law because it contradicted “democracy, liberty, justice and equality, so how could we accept it after 50 years?”
He also said opposition had imposed an electoral law in order to obtain a majority of votes at the expense of real Christian or Muslim representation.
Eddé added that few deputies would have the courage to defend citizens’ right to a transparent electoral system and real competition.
The National Bloc leader said he expected MPs would instead defend leaders’ interests, because most of them did not have an independent popular base and had only made it to the parliament because they were featured on a strong slate in previous elections.
He also called on the Lebanese to defend their right to democracy and real popular presentation, urging them to be “strong and united no matter their political backgrounds” in order to reject the current system and adopt better electoral divisions and reform.
“Civil society, with the help of some independent journalists and religious references, can help in sending the message to voters,” he noted.