BEIRUT: Lebanon will face major risks if MPs fail to reach a deal over a new electoral law to govern to upcoming elections, Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea warned in remarks published Monday.

“The country might enter a dark and dangerous tunnel if no solution [over the elections] is reached,” said Geagea, who spoke to An-Nahar newspaper.

A parliamentary subcommittee discussing draft laws for the coming elections has only a few days left to agree on a voting system before the matter is referred to a joint committee.

The subcommittee, which includes lawmakers from both the March 8 and March 14 rival camps, resumed meetings Monday noon for talks on a hybrid electoral proposal that joins both proportional representation and a winner-takes-all-system.

Following the meeting, the head of the subcommittee MP Robert Ghanem said Tuesday will be the last day to suggest amendments to the hybrid law.

He added that the lawmakers will resume a second round of talks in the afternoon away from the media.

During last week’s meeting, lawmakers from different blocs suggested different distributions of the hybrid law’s two systems.

MP Ali Bazzi, of Berri’s Liberation and Development bloc, suggested an equal 50/50 distribution between a majority system and a proportional representation system.

Progressive Socialist Party MP Akram Shehayeb suggested 70 percent of the seats be based on a majority system with the rest based on proportional representation.

Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel, who is also a subcommittee member, suggested 60 percent of the elections should be based on proportional representation and 40 percent on a majority system.

According to Geagea, the subcommittee has made “tangible progress” in its discussions.

“Such progress should be translated into solutions,” said Geagea, who called for all parties to exert their maximum efforts to reach a consensus electoral law.

Earlier Monday, Ghanem said he was upbeat about reaching a consensus on the hybrid law.

“If the participants have good intentions then we will probably reach an agreement on a hybrid law that is acceptable to all parties,” Ghanem said in remarks to An-Nahar daily.