President Michel Aoun on Thursday signed a key decree opening an extraordinary legislative session ahead of an iftar banquet at the Baabda Palace during which he is expected to voice important remarks regarding the electoral law.
The decree, which also carried the signature of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, stipulates that the session will begin on June 7 and end on June 20 and that it will be “exclusively limited to the approval of a new electoral law.”
The decree signals that the parties have inched closer to an agreement on an electoral law based on full proportional representation and 15 electoral districts. Lebanese Forces deputy leader MP George Adwan played a key role in promoting the aforementioned electoral system among the rival parties.
Earlier in the day, Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Alain Aoun stressed that “there is no disagreement between President Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri that needs to be resolved at the Baabda iftar banquet.”
"Today's gathering will clear the air and help reach a new electoral law," he said.
A disagreement had recently emerged over who between Aoun and Berri has the jurisdiction to call for an extraordinary parliament session.
An annual Ramadan iftar banquet hosted by Aoun at the Presidential Palace on Thursday evening is expected to accelerate agreement on a new voting system. Some reports have even said that Aoun could announce the agreement in his speech.
Date: 01/06/2017
