March 14 holds workshop on electoral reform
The March 14 alliance emphasized the importance of adopting electoral reforms in accordance with international standards, which the alliance said was a solid base for the development of political life in Lebanon and the elimination of exploitation that marred the previous elections.
After a workshop on electoral reforms, the March 14 General Secretariat on Thursday issued a statement calling on the members of the parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee to begin “active participation” in the current study of the National Commission on Electoral Law’s (NCEL) reform proposal, led by former Minister Fouad Boutros and leading national experts on electoral law and civil rights.
The NCEL’s draft, known as the Fouad Butrous law, was formed in collaboration with the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform (CCER) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
The workshop covered electoral media campaigns and advertising, the need to regulate and control campaign finances, and possible ways of ensuring competitive elections and equal opportunities for all candidates.
The conferees also discussed the possibility of creating pre-printed ballots and organizing elections in all districts on the same day.
The workshop, which was moderated by MP Antoine Haddad of the March 14 alliance, was attended by MPs Boutros Harb, Samir Jisr, Nicolas Fattouch, Fouad Al-Saad, Nicolas Ghosn, Antoine Zahra, Elie Aoun, Jawad Boulos, Hadi Habish, and Qassim Abdul-Aziz. Nader Hariri and Khaled Chehab of the Future Movement also participated in the workshop, as did Melhem Shaoul and Ayman Mehanna on behalf of the Democratic Renewal Movement, Jihad Akl of the National Liberal Party, and Elie Dagher of the Kataeb Party.