By The Daily Star Lebanon
The High Council for the Chaldean Church in Lebanon
demanded Sunday that the electoral law in the making secures a fair
representation for all Christian minorities in Parliament.
“The
Chaldean sector is one of the 18 sects that form the Lebanese social
fabric and its members have contributed like other sects in reinforcing
the country’s economy and participating in activities that further
enhanced Lebanon’s regional and international role,” said a statement
issued by the council.
Chaldean, Protestant, Copt, Assyrian,
Catholic Syriac, Orthodox Syriac and Latin sects are all represented by a
single seat in Parliament, according to the 1960 electoral law.
The
Chaldean council demanded that each Christian minority be represented
by one seat in Parliament, expressing deep sorrow over “the statements
of several MPs who asked that only two Christian minority sects be
represented in Parliament by two seats thus depriving the remaining
sects of this right."
The council also warned against “adopting
such a proposal as this would inflict a deep wound and set a dangerous
precedent in democratic societies.”