Key Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt met with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in a bid to diffuse tension within opposition circles on the eve of today's deadline to approve a new electoral law ahead of this month's polls. Speaking after his meeting with the opposition figure, Jumblatt said: "We want an electoral law which satisfies all the members of the opposition, from the Qornet Shehwan Christian gathering to slain Premier Rafik Hariri's bloc to Sfeir." But he added: "We also want an electoral law which reassures the loyalists, meaning Hizbullah and Amal Movement."Jumblatt is at the center of a row between the various opposition factions after giving what appeared to be tacit approval for the election to take place under the aegis of the 2000 electoral law, which many in the opposition believe favors the pro-Syrian loyalist groupings. Jumblatt was also criticised for meeting with leading loyalists Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and former Prime Minister Omar Karami last week in a move that wasn't sanctioned by his opposition colleagues. Jumblatt insisted yesterday he had followed international advice to meet with Berri and Karami in order to reach a compromise on the electoral law to ensure elections took place as scheduled at the end of May. He said: "UN envoy Terje Roed Larsen told me that in order to reach this compromise I should visit both Berri and Karami."
If Speaker Nabih Berri doesn't call upon the Parliament to convene today to discuss and approve a new electoral law, the controversial electoral law of 2000 will be used as the basis for Lebanon's May parliamentary elections. According to the country's Constitution, today is the final day Parliament can convene and issue an electoral law if elections are to start on May 29.