The government has no reason to adjourn upcoming parliamentary elections in the wake of the successful organization of municipal polls, Independence Movement Michel Moawad said Monday.

“Officials and politicians have no reason not to conduct parliamentary elections as soon as possible, or by the spring of 2017 as scheduled,” Moawad told a news conference. While he urged parliament to endorse a new parliamentary electoral system, Moawad stressed that polls need to take place within constitutional deadlines regardless of whether an agreement is reached on a new electoral law.

“If a new law is not approved, then we are determined to hold parliamentary elections on time, simply because having an elected parliament based on a flawed law is way better than extending the term of lawmakers in violation of the Constitution,” Moawad said.

Moawad also called for the adoption of a new municipal electoral law based on proportional representation whereby citizens vote for municipalities in their area of residence instead of their home town.

“Municipal polls must be based on proportional representation and a person must be allowed to vote for a municipality they pay fees for, and not for where they’re from originally,” he said.

Moawad also called for the implementation of administrative decentralization, saying it is a much needed reform to enable municipalities to act independently amid the central government’s failure in addressing the most basic issues.

Touching on the municipal elections in Zgharta district, Moawad said the Independence Movement has succeeded in putting development before politics.

“We overcame divisions that other districts have witnessed between political parties, families and civil society groups and achieved consensus despite our differences,” he said.

The agreement represents an achievement, according to Moawad, who said that all political factions and civil society groups have rallied  behind qualified candidates with a development agenda.

Moawad said consensus candidates won 25 out of 31 municipalities in Zgharta district amid one of the highest voter turnout registered in regions where consensus has been reached.

The high voter turnout, Moawad said, puts a big responsibility on municipal councils to embark on development projects.

Moawad praised Marada Movement official Tony Franjieh for facilitating the agreement on a consensus list of candidates who ran for municipalities across Zgharta district.

Moawad, however, said that a number of “the self-proclaimed Zgharta leaders” have betrayed the consensus in Mukhtar elections, which led to the defeat of candidate Badawi Douwaihy.