Sheikh Qassem: Proportionality Best of All, March 14 To Lose Bets on Syria

The Deputy Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Friday the need “of fair elections that offer equal chances to all parties and various sects, prevent monopoly, and undermine the impact of capital money from buying consciences.”

During a meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Democratic Party led by Walid Barakat, and the presence of Hizbullah Political Council member Mahmoud Qmati, Sheik Qassem highlighted that “this can be achieved only through an electoral law based on proportionality.”

“If a new authority emerged as a result of proportionality, all sides will be represented in the Parliament according to their real sizes,” His Eminence clarified.
In parallel, Sheikh Qassem considered that “March 14” suggestion of an electoral law based on 50 small electoral constituencies “is an attempt to go backward.”
“This suggestion is even worse than the current 1960 electoral law as it adds for its defects more sectarianism and divisions,” said Sheikh Qassem.

He also warned that “as some “March 14″ officials rejected an electoral law of 50 constituencies, it seems that it won’t pass in the Parliament.”
“They proposed it to waste time in order to keep the 1960 law,” the top Hizbullah official added.
On another level, his Eminence accused “March 14″ of dragging Lebanon into the Syrian crisis by smuggling arms into Syria, providing refuge to rebels and obstructing the Lebanese Army’s role in the North and Bekaa,” Qassem said.

“They seek, by such performances, to change the equation in Syria, believing it will improve their status and political role in Lebanon,” he emphasized.
However, Sheikh Qassem affirmed that ” this group is wasting its time by such bets.”
“Developments in Syria will not be in the favor of “March 14”. They will lose again, the same way they lost when they betted on the American-“Israeli” project,” he concluded.