It has been nearly a decade since Lebanese citizens last had the opportunity to go to the polls, with the current parliament having on three separate occasions unilaterally renewed its mandate for reasons ranging from security risks caused by the war in neighboring Syria to the inability to agree on electoral reform. But following an agreement last summer to replace a plurality voting system with proportional representation, elections finally will be held on May 6. The new law also reduced the number of electoral constituencies (which may comprise more than one district) to fifteen, with seats allocated in each according to the size of the region’s population. Furthermore, parliamentary mandates within each constituency are reserved for various sects, including Sunnis, Shiites, Druze, Catholics, Protestants, Greek Orthodox, etc.…
Given Lebanon’s tumultuous history, including a religiously-motivated civil war from 1975-1990, the political system has long guaranteed representation for all denominations, with parliament divided evenly between Christians and Muslims (64 seats apiece). Notably, Lebanon’s premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim, the presidency for a Maronite Christian and the position of parliament speaker for a Shi’a Muslim.
Tony Abu-Nejem, a Lebanese political analyst, believes that while the new electoral system is better than the previous one it is still inadequate. “The worst thing is that our politics is supposed to be democratic, but unfortunately Hezbollah inhibits majority rule by always claiming that the country needs a ‘government of national reconciliation.’ Hezbollah insists on this,” he elaborated to The Media Line, “in order to have the power to disable certain things and stay in control.”
Full Article: Lebanon prepares for first parliamentary elections since 2009 – Israel News – Jerusalem Post.
