Aoun defends proportional representation, says fears unjustified

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President Michel Aoun addressed the diplomatic corps at Baabda palace on Tuesday January 17, 2017 . Dalati & Nohra
President Michel Aoun addressed the diplomatic corps at Baabda palace on Tuesday January 17, 2017 . Dalati & Nohra

President Michel Aoun  defended on Tuesday  proportional representation electoral  system stressing that endorsing it  guarantees proper representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections and  stated that fears of it  are not justified.

“Our utmost priority is to stage the parliamentary elections based on a new electoral law that guarantees proper representation for all Lebanese factions,” said Aoun in a speech during a meeting with the diplomatic corps at Baabda palace.

“Concerns of some political parties over endorsing a proportional representation system are unjustified. Only a proportional system is capable of ensuring proper and just representation for all parties,” added the President.

He then added: “Some might lose their seats at parliament shall this system be applied but in the end we will all win the country’s stability.”

“My will as president of Lebanon is to dedicate this position to embracing the unique Lebanese composition that is based on diversity, which has proven over the years an ability to confront challenges,” said Aoun.

“My will is to provide stability at the security, political, economic, social and financial levels to enable Lebanon to restore the positive role known to all on the international arena. We have started setting the plans for that, and some of these plans are on their way to implementation.”

The President also stressed that he is keen on protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and preserving its national unity.

How comments come a day after the  party that he founded , the  Free Patriotic Movement warned Monday of “ revolution” should the political forces fail to agree  on a new electoral law to replace the so called 1960  law.

This development also comes after Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq  announced that the country is likely headed to parliamentary elections under the 1960 electoral law due to the parties’ failure to agree on a new law.

Aoun’s ally , the Iranian backed Hezbollah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially the Future Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party’s controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party has clout.In 2013 Lebanese Forces and The Future Movement backed by the PSP agreed on a hybrid electoral law which calls for 54% of the MPs to be elected under the majoritarian winner-takes-all system and 46 % under the proportional representation system. This draft law was rejected by the Hezbollah-led March 8 opposition.

Also in 2013 Future Movement leader PM Saad Hariri rejected the electoral law that is based on proportional representation because there will be competition in some regions, but there cannot be any competition in other regions, because of the presence of Hezbollah weapons in them.

Hariri was referring to the 2009 election in the areas dominated by Hezbollah. According to the reports that surfaced back then Hezbollah gunmen prevented their rivals from voting and the results of the election showed it. On the other hand in the March 14 dominated areas several Hezbollah backed candidates won the election that was based on winner take all . In a proportional representation system Hezbollah will be able to gain more seats in the March 14 dominated areas but will not lose any seats in its dominated areas as long as it is allowed to keep its arms and use them internally for political gain .

According to analysts Hezbollah wants to dominate Lebanon by insisting on adopting the proportional law in a single or several expanded electoral districts.

The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate.

The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.

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37 responses to “Aoun defends proportional representation, says fears unjustified”

  1. Mr. president , your son-n-law FM Gebran Bassil said after your election that you are now allied with all the Lebanese and no longer with Hezbollah only. In this case you should remain neutral and let all the politicians fight it out and decide on what is best for the country. The more you distance yourself from any specific party , the more you will be perceived as an Independent president. Take my advice General and stay neutral

    1. Yes Aoun, take the advice of a cockroach (by the name of Kharazna) who pretends to be Lebanese and care for Lebanon.

      1. I told you many times to change your logo. This is not for Persians this is only for true Lebanese . Don’t fake it anymore .

        1. Once Kharazna; not many times. I’ll do so whenever you change yours to the one of a Salafist-Wahhabi and when you respond back in Lebanese Arabic (latin or arabic alphabet).

          1. I told you many times to change your logo. This is not for Persians this is only for true Lebanese . Don’t pollute our Godly tree and don’t fake it anymore . I know who you are!

          2. I also told you to quit squealing and that I would change it after you change yours to the one of a Salafist-Wahhabi.

            Albeit tuly beautiful, there is nothing ‘Godly’ about the Cedar Trees, get over yourself with your religious drivel. Most importantly, quit pretending to be Christian.

            I also know who you are: a cockroach pretending to be Lebanese and care for Lebanon. Your Salafist-Wahhabi want to make of Lebanon an Islamic State. Iran/Hezbollah does not.

          3. He doesn’t sound like a “Salafist-Wahhabi”. Not one mention of any religious affiliation, as far as I have seen. How do you come to this assumption, just because he doesn’t agree with you? Trust me, your kind are much fewer than you believe and if you look at it from a global perspective, the Hezb/Irans are a very small minority, miniscule, even among muslim numbers, the shiites and associates are a fly in the ointment. Ask the US navy, they had to swat a few IRGC speeds boats the other day when they played chicken with a US destroyer.

          4. You seem certain it’s a ‘he’ and ‘his’ religious – interesting. He may be playing a neutral card but he’s not fooling me. Give it some time, he’ll slip. I’ll be there to catch him like I did many others.

            About the rest of your comment: 1) no, I won’t trust you because you swallow bs fed to you blindly and you parrot it back without the slightest critical thinking and 2) you mumble from afar.

          5. I guessed he is a “he” mostly because of the vast majority of posters from world news sites are obviously male. Your partner Hind is an exception to the rule, but it is not hard to see the averages. Deductive reasoning is never 100% fool-proof but it stands a better chance at being right above any far-fetched conspiracy theory. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you, it is basic knowledge.

          6. You didn’t have to justify yourself.

          7. “you mumble from afar.”
            Isn’t that what we all do? The key thing here is that people are taking, even if we are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

          8. Afar as in geographically.

          9. Ya think?

          10. “you mumble from afar” Ratscal

          11. If he didn’t spit on Shia Iran Hezbollah (your life obsession) you wouldn’t defend him *l*

          12. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            Don’t expect any logical thinking from the brainwashed
            They just behave how they have been programmed.
            The formulas that rule their thinking are quite simple:
            You want your country to be independent (0) = you’re a Salafist wahabi (1)
            Resistants killing Arabs (0) = Resistants killing terrorists (1)
            Non-resistants killing Arabs (0) = Non-resistants killing martyrs (1)
            Anti-resistance thinking (0) = Zionism (1)
            Hungry (0) = eat an onion (1)

            You really don’t need to bother explaining anything to them 😉

          13. “Omega” certainly sounds like an Arab Nazi, be it of the Baathist or SSNP variety. The same hatreds, the same obsessions.

          14. Another high grade Jewish Zio-Nazi spokesman defending Arzna..

          15. Jarabt i7termek bil awwal bas int tl3t 7mar wbala adab

            Ya 7mar el7meer. Illi ikhtara3 illeghet kan istazi . inta mannek bashari . 7mar wmfalsaf 3al fadi. Inta ma lazem tkun haun ma3 elewadim , lazem yish7atuk wyukhru 3laik w yib3atuk 3 blad el 3jam. 7il 3n tizi . ra7 kibbek bizbali

          16. And I thought your English was crooked; your ‘Lebanese’ is absolutely horrid. Aside from taking an awful long time to respond in ‘Lebanese Arabic’ and despite you calling my Lebanese Arabic ‘stupid’ (without ground), the usage of Latin alphabet (what happened to responding back in Arabic alphabet?), did you read the crap you wrote? Assuming you’re Lebanese, do you really speak like this or did you ask some dumb, retarded Lebanese to write you this? Uneducated, unmannered children talk like this in Lebanon. Damn.

          17. Zionists and Christian haters on this site want ISIS to invade Lebanon..

            “In the early years of the Syrian crisis, terrorist groups had control of much larger border areas, including strategic Syrian border cities such as Qusair and Yabrud. Lebanese movement Hezbollah, however, played a pivotal role in expelling the extremists from these towns.

            According to retired Lebanese army Gen. Elias Farhat, Hezbollah’s intervention in these border regions prevented a terrorist invasion of Lebanese territories. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Farhat said, “Hezbollah launched an offensive against the terrorists from Syrian territory, and had it not done so, the terrorists would have invaded Lebanese territories just like they did in Ninevah and Anbar in Iraq.”
            http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/01/lebanon-terrorist-threat-syria-neighboring-countries.html#ixzz4W6DhZxpB

          18. You sound so phoney..

        2. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          Don’t mind the Syrian agent
          the Israelis bombed his school yet again a couple of days ago
          as he can’t do shit about it he comes here barking on people venting his frustration

          1. Said the one wanted for treason in Lebanon.

            You and I very well know who’s the frustrated one. (wink)

          2. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            pffff a treason verdict from a Hezbollah court is something I’ll show my grandkids with pride.
            What will you tell your grandkids? I colluded with terrorists and murderers and sold them my and your country and that’s why you’re called bashar and maher?
            wahahahaha

          3. And there you go. Why would you be sentenced with anything if all you (allegedly) did was to hang a Lebanese flag on a building? Now that I think about it, twenty one days ago, you did write this:

            When I was there the first night after the people you are protecting (and you are protecting them, stop hiding behind your finger) just blew Hariri and dozens of Lebanese nobody in the West was paying me, nobody in the West was forcing my hand and I certainly did not have the West and Israel’s best interest in mind.

            The key word is: when. Meaning there was/is an after. Tell me more about that after and not the silly flag hanging bs. Something tells me that, like the many others, your bayeh was too much of a useless hmar to provide for his family. You had no choice but to sell yourself to a foreign entity to spy in Lebanon in exchange for a monthly salary so that your imeh and sister stops selling themselves. When you were caught, you had no choice but the flee like the filthy sewage rat you are. Jackpot?

            Since I brought that old comment of yours, I’ll reiterate that Hezbollah/Iran/Syria had nothing to do with the killing of Hariri. Mossad did it.

            That being said, if it’s ‘pffff’, why don’t you come back to Lebanon haboob? Keep convincing yourself that it’s ‘pffff’. (wink)

            When you tell your lies to your dumb-to-be grandkids (they will be American after all), make sure to go beyond the flag hanging bs.

          4. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            you really think I was going to read this?
            Where did they give you your Syrian nationality? Homs?

          5. Yes haboob, you read it.

            I am sure your silly Syrian argument helps you vent out. (wink)

          6. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            be careful of the “Mossad” behind the fumes

          7. Thought you didn’t read? (laughing)

          8. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            read what? Dr. Maher’s refrain?
            We’ve been hearing it for decades. You think I need to read your nonsense to guess what you’re saying? Brainwashed people are just very predictable omega. Something you should think about if the analytical part of your brain hasn’t been permanently damaged in mazzeh.

          9. Keep playing dumb and diverting.

          10. I never read beyond the first sentence. Works like a charm. 🙂

  2. Was that HeBlabla’s little sister in the audience?:

    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4908970,00.html

  3. PatienceTew Avatar
    PatienceTew

    If Aoun favours it, BEWARE!

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