BEIRUT: Hezbollah and the Future Movement Tuesday called for the swift approval of a new law for parliamentary elections following the successful holding of local polls.

A statement issued after the 29th dialogue session between both groups at Speaker Nabih Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence highlighted “the urgent need to rush to pass a new electoral law for parliamentary polls in preparation for holding them.”

Representatives from the two parties also discussed the recent municipal elections and their indications.

“They evaluated the municipal polls stages and the positive democratic atmosphere that accompanied them which boosted confidence in the state and its institutions,” the statement said.

For his part, U.S. interim Ambassador to Lebanon Richard Jones congratulated Lebanese authorities for holding parliamentary polls, highlighting the need for organizing parliamentary elections on time. “I would also like to seize this opportunity to congratulate the government of Lebanon, all the candidates and most of all the Lebanese people for again showing their commitment to democratic principles by holding successful municipal elections. This is another important step in restoring Lebanese democracy,” Jones said during the American Independence Day Celebration at Le Royal Hotel in Dbayyeh.

“In fact, elections are not held for the convenience of politicians but for the people to exercise their God-given right to speak their will. This is why the United States has never postponed a national election; it is also why we urged that the municipal elections here be held on schedule; it is why we believe that parliamentary elections should not be postponed again,” Jones added. Parliamentary elections are due in about a year.

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Joint Committees meet again Wednesday to discuss a new draft law for parliamentary elections to replace the 1960 voting system. The latter divides Lebanon into qadas and adopts a winner-take-all system. It was adopted in the last legislative polls in 2009.

Some of the proposals for a new model include a balancing a combination the winner-take-all system with proportional representation. Major Christian parties have been complaining of what they say is a lack of true Christian representation in Parliament and have been seeking a new electoral law to replace the 1960 voting system.

The Future parliamentary bloc said that the municipal elections would encourage the election of a president, amid the ongoing vacuum in the top Christian post, urging lawmakers to head to Parliament Thursday to finally elect a president.

“Hezbollah’s paralyzing position for presidential election, in cooperation and alliance with the FPM, through their attempt to force a president on Lebanon … is indeed a continuous crime against Lebanon and Lebanese,” said the bloc, in a statement after its weekly meeting.

Lawmakers have been unable to elect a successor for President Michel Sleiman after his term ended in May 2014.

Although Marada Movement Leader Sleiman Frangieh and FPM Founder Michel Aoun are the main candidates for the position, neither can secure enough votes with few lawmakers turning up to election sessions.

For its part, the Free Patriotic Movement perceives the electoral law as a serious and “strategic” matter.

“And it cannot be overlooked with aim of representing all Lebanese fairly and this is something that didn’t happen from the Taif [accord] until today,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan said, after Change and Reform bloc’s meeting.

The Taif Accord was signed at a meeting in Saudi Arabia in 1989 and marked the end the 1975-90 Civil War.

Kanaan warned against any kind of bargaining in this matter, explaining that partnership and parity is their main cause.

“We will confront any attempt … to delay and stall so that we are forced in the end to use the 1960 model,” he said, noting that the Christian concerns aren’t being taken into consideration in this issue or over the presidency.