Most lawmakers think that this innovation will endanger the possibilities for reelection, because commitments are forgotten with a more secret way to vote.

Amid those fears and concerns, the proposal to postpone the election came out, while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called to bring the voting forward to December.

Lebanon has not held parliamentary elections since 2009, and in addition to the introduction of the biometric identity cards, a new election law approved in June will come into force.

The legislation establishes a different administrative division by virtue of which the country will have 15 election districts.

The law also stipulates the adoption of biometric identity cards instead of traditional identification documents.

Berri, of the Amal bloc, submitted a draft bill for an urgent debate focused on early election to prevent difficulties if the Ministry of the Interior fails to issue the biometric identity cards before May.

The parliament speaker expects the voting to approve the early election to take place by the end of the year.

In response to Berri's proposal, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil assured that it will be a low blow under the reforms contained in the election law approved in June.

Another fear is the return to a country with no president, as happened for 29 months.

Due to the characteristics of the Lebanese Constitution, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunnite Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Bassil noted that if the election is held in December, there will be no time to implement the reforms under way. (PL)

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