Sleiman visits Hariri: Organize elections based on majority system and calm apprehensions

NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri received today at the Grand Serail the former President of the Republic Michel Sleiman. They discussed the latest political developments in Lebanon and in the region. At the end of the meeting, President Sleiman said: "The main objective of my visit is to congratulate the Prime Minister on the formation of the government and wish him every success in his mission. The main subject is the new electoral law that everyone expects. The proportional system has been proposed for a long time and is in line with the Lebanese formula, but there are many fears, for known reasons, the first of which is the presence of weapons. Some parties have apprehensions, whether they are founded or not. So I think that in the case of the Mixed Law (proportional and majority), a "disorder" will occur that will reduce the value of the proportional system and the importance of adopting it in the future, so I would prefer we take our time. It would be better to organize elections based on the majority system, even if not for a full term, and examine the total application of Taef, apply administrative decentralization and form the Senate. I think these two points will reassure those who are concerned. It is also necessary to approve a defense strategy in Lebanon, to reassure people that weapons will soon be in the sole hands of the Lebanese state, which will dissipate the apprehensions of many people. We must absolutely organize the elections, even if the law is not new. The alternation of power, even under the old law, should be done. The alternative is not to postpone the elections nor to extend the mandate. Question: Even if it is under the 1960 law? Sleiman: Yes, according to any law. The worst is the law of 1960, but it is better than a law that will lead us to an unknown place.What we put forward, me and the Meeting the Republic, is to hold elections at the level of the mohafazat, with total proportional system and to lower the voting age to 18 years. Hariri also met with the Minister of State for Human Rights, Ayman Choucair, who said at the end of the meeting: "The meeting with the Prime Minister was very positive. He informed me of his views on the issue of human rights and we agreed to accelerate the work to establish the administrative structure of the ministry. President Hariri announced that there is the possibility of establishing a Ministry of Human Rights in the future in agreement with the President of the Republic given the importance of this ministry, which gives a positive image of Lebanon. And I expressed my wish to put in place the National Commission of Human Rights, mentioned in the ministerial declaration. He gave his instructions to start next week the creation of this body and I thank him for it". He added: "Prime Minister Hariri told us of the results of the visit of President Aoun to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the importance of the relationship between Lebanon and the Arab countries, in particular the Gulf countries starting with Saudi Arabia". Hariri also met, in the presence of his adviser for the North, Abdel Ghani Kabbara, with the Minister of Labor Mohammed Abdel Latif Kabbara who said at the end of the meeting: "The meeting was devoted to the Ministry of Labor. We examined a few projects that should be on the agenda of the Council of Ministers, in addition to a number of projects concerning the city of Tripoli. Prime Minister Hariri supported these projects ". Hariri also met with Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. =====================