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BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri voiced support for the allocations of Parliamentary seats to Lebanese expatriates saying it would lessen sectarianism in the country, reported a local daily Tuesday.

"[I] support the allocation of 10 parliamentary seats to expatriates in the same manner that Algeria and France do and the Lebanese communities would vote for them, Berri told An-Nahar in remarks published Tuesday.

He added that the allocation would be implemented by either increasing the number of parliamentarians or allocating 10 seats for expatriates out of the current 128.

[Mixing] the MPs with others that represent expatriates reduces sectarianism and the intensity of the political rhetoric, Berri said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour has proposed that Lebanese expatriates be included in the decision-making process.

The Cabinet approved last month a mechanism to allow the Lebanese in the diaspora to vote. Under Mansour's proposal, Lebanese expatriates will be able to vote through their embassies.

The Cabinet is still discussing a draft electoral law that is based on a system of proportional representation, which Berri supports, drafted last year by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

The draft law has been met with criticism from both former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt.

Lebanons current electoral system is a winner-takes-all. In the 2009 Parliamentary elections, the 1960 election law was implemented which adopts the qada as an electoral district and was used in the 2009 round.

Berri has voiced support for proportional representation that adopts Lebanon as a single qada.

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Berri backs allocating Parliament seats to expats