Lebanon's Hezbollah urges new electoral law to be agreed "the soonest"

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-03 04:54:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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BEIRUT, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called Tuesday the political parties in Lebanon to agree on an election law reform the soonest.

He warned that the country is "on the brink of the abyss" regarding the electoral law issue.

But he stressed that his party is not seeking to "impose" the proportional representation electoral system on the country.

There has been "an attempt to accuse Hezbollah that it is seeking to prevent Christians from electing their MPs with their own votes" recently, he said in a televised speech.

"It has also been said that Hezbollah wants to impose full proportional representation on the Lebanese through its weapons and military might," he said.

Nasrallah said that his party wants the fairest and most just representation and their stance is not partisan or sectarian.

"It is not possible to impose an electoral law on Christians or on Druze should they reject a certain law," Nasrallah stressed.

Parliamentary elections were scheduled to take place between May 21 and June 21, but deadlock over the new electoral law would lead to a delay of the polls.

The Parliament has extended its mandate twice, in 2013 and 2014, over security fears.

In April, Lebanese President Michel Aoun suspended parliament for a month to block plans to extend the assembly's term without election for the third time, aiming to push politicians to agree election law reforms.

For years, the parties in Lebanon have been unable to agree on a new electoral law. Some politicians say the law divides the population into constituencies that do not fairly represent their supporters.

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