By Naharnet.com

Prime Minister Saad Hariri presided Wednesday over a
Cabinet session at the Grand Serail, during which he stressed that the
government’s “priority” is the organization of parliamentary elections. At the beginning of the session, Hariri lauded President
Michel Aoun’s speech before the the diplomatic corps and “the national
inclinations it included.”

“I stress that our priority in the government is to hold
the parliamentary elections and that our agenda will never include –
neither secretly nor publicly – any intentions or desire to extend the
parliament’s term,” the premier added. “All political forces represented in the government are
concerned with realizing this approach, as much as they are concerned
with agreeing on a new electoral law based on unified standards that
ensure fair representation,” Hariri said.

The session had 32 items on its agenda. The issue of
amending the Lebanese Petroleum Administration’s financial system was
postponed to the next session, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said
after the session.

Asked whether the Cabinet discussed the issues of the
Costa Brava garbage landfill, flight safety at Beirut’s airport and the
bird-repelling devices that have been offered as a grant, Riachi said
the conferees tackled the topic and that it would be thoroughly
discussed by the competent ministerial panel. State Minister for Women’s Affairs Jean Oghassabian said
the Cabinet discussed “an idea for a reevaluation of the entire waste
management file.”

Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Nouhad
al-Mashnouq have warned that the country is likely headed to
parliamentary elections under the controversial 1960 electoral law due
to the parties’ failure to agree on a new law.

Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law
fully based on proportional representation but other political parties,
especially Mustaqbal and the Progressive Socialist Party, have rejected
the proposal, arguing that Hizbullah’s weapons would prevent serious
competition in regions where the Iran-backed party has clout.

Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the PSP have
meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional
representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Berri has also proposed
a hybrid law.

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.