After marathon talks and an eleventh-hour agreement, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new electoral law based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts, replacing the winner-takes-all system for the first time in the country's history.
The Cabinet also approved an 11-month technical extension of parliament's term until May 20, 2018, and stipulated that the elections should be held within the 60 days that precede the expiry of the legislature's term. Media reports said the elections will be held on May 6.
Ahead of the session, a committee was formed to “reformulate” the law format and fine-tune it.
Aoun congratulated the conferees at the beginning of the session on what he described as a “great achievement,” noting that “the majoritarian system (the 1960 law) did not secure just representation.”
“Cabinet will remain in session until it approves it,” he added.
For his part, Hariri stated that the “1960 law is behind us now and the extension we resort to is technical in order to hold modern, transparent and fair elections.”
After approval, the law was sent to Parliament for ratification, and Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a session for 2:00 pm Friday.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised the new elections law as a "historic achievement."
The agreement came days before the legislature's term was to end on June 20 — avoiding sending the country into a fresh political crisis.