BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said Monday that an arms-free Beirut could be a model for the rest of the country, and called for an electoral system that minimizes sectarianism and safeguards equality between Muslims and Christians.

Speaking at a Beirut conference on Interior Minister Marwan Charbel’s draft law for proportional representation, Sleiman said a modern electoral law should ensure the effective representation of all Lebanese in future polls.

“An electoral system that ensures the proper representation of the various components of Lebanese society actually expresses the will of the Lebanese to live together, which they have committed to since independence,” Sleiman said.

Monday’s conference, hosted by the Interior Ministry and the UNDP, tackled the details of the law Charbel first fielded in October of last year.

Debate on a new electoral law to replace the existing law – which is based on legislation from 1960 – has intensified in recent weeks as rival parties, sects and civil society groups have voiced opposing views on the best electoral system.

Speaking at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel, Sleiman called for the approval of an electoral law that was in line with the country’s National Pact, warning that the failure to adopt such a law would further distance Lebanese from one another.

“Should any community or group of the nation feel incapable of choosing or electing its representatives, confessional fanaticism would be revived and each community would isolate itself and become secluded,” Sleiman said.

Meanwhile, Charbel said the country cannot achieve genuine political reform without reforming its electoral law.

“All countries in the world with democratic political systems, and countries that strive for democracy, consider a country’s electoral law to be the most effective factor for change,” Charbel said, adding that the country was at a critical point and the Cabinet needed to act now in order to approve an electoral reform law.

“It is not acceptable for political parties to say that the government failed to act [on reform], simply in order to cover [up] their narrow political considerations,” Charbel added.

Charbel also slammed attempts by certain groups to put forth electoral laws “that draw the country backward,” in a veiled reference to the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal that each religious group elect its own leaders. The plan has been backed by Maronite leaders.

UNDP resident representative Robert Watkins said that “reform of the electoral law is of utmost importance for all Lebanese.” He added that he hoped discussions on the electoral law “will help set the broader parameters of democratic representation in Lebanon for many years to come.”

“The consultations that are now under way are therefore of major importance: They represent a unique opportunity to seek to overcome past differences and to plot a clear and predictable course for democratic development in the country,” Watkins continued.

Watkins advised politicians and activists to carry out talks “with care, responsibility and openness.”

Later in the day, Sleiman told a delegation of Beirut MPs who visited him at Baabda Palace that it was only natural that all Lebanese towns and villages become arms-free.

He said that if Beirut becomes a city without weapons, this could be replicated in other Lebanese areas. This, Sleiman said, would require that all groups unite to facilitate the work of the security forces.

Future Movement MPs began campaigning for a “de-militarized” Beirut over a year ago following armed clashes between Hezbollah and gunmen from the Association of the Islamic Charitable Projects which left three people dead in Burj Abi Haidar.

Beirut MPs will hold a meeting on the subject Wednesday.