Hoss welcomes Doha Agreement with some reservations

Source: NowLebanon, 21-05-2008
Former PM Salim Al-Hoss welcomed the agreement in Doha today with "some reservations on its clauses," adding, "We were hoping the leaders would have taken the Taif Agreement as a basis for the electoral law, which recommends mohafaza-based electoral districts, with the use of proportional representation."
Hoss said that using the 1960 electoral law, with the current divisions in Beirut, would lead to a parliament divided by sectarianism, and therefore, "We would be going backward in our attempt to get rid of sectarian divisions. We have breached the Taif agreement twice, once when we used the caza instead of the mohafaza, and a second time by disregarding the need to get rid of the sectarian divide."
Hoss said that the agreement ignored the need for several rules that would regulate the use of political money and the role of the media. "Wouldn't it have been better to use the electoral law suggested by Fouad Boutros?" Hoss asked, adding that if no agreement were reached, there would have been unexpected repercussions.