Lebanese Cabinet approves today the election law of 14 departments

The Lebanese Cabinet today held its weekly meeting at its premises in al-Mithaf under the chairmanship of President Emile Lahoud in order to approve the parliamentary elections law which will create 14 electoral districts. Earlier, Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss said the law is now ready and complete.

A member of the ministerial committee who took part in the formulation of the law, Post and Telecommunications Minister Issam Naaman, said, "The 14 election departments have almost been completed," and the final say is left for the Cabinet and the parliament.

In a statement to the "Voice of Lebanon Radio," Naaman added, "concentration is made on adopting the principle of equality and the government's supervision of elections."

The elections law was on top of issues debated by Maronite Cardinal Nasrullah Sfeir with two former Lebanese ministers, Fuad Butrous and Edmond Rizq. Sfeir said "The proposed project, which I considered as approved, has no basic criteria and principles." He described this law as "random and aiming at serving certain trends and persons or fighting others."