CLAO

Founded in 1989 to serve the USA and Lebanon.

THE COUNCIL OF LEBANESE AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS

       Eastern USA: P.O. Box 181116 Cleveland, OH 44118  ***  Western USA: P. O. Box 661823, Los Angeles, CA 90066

PSEUDO-DEMOCRATIC DEMOCRACY

May 30, 2005

The Council of Lebanese American Organizations (CLAO) is concerned that the parliamentary elections in Lebanon, which got underway yesterday in Beirut, are neither free nor fair or a reflection of the will of the Lebanese people.  This is evident in the fact that more than ¾ of the eligible Beirut voters chose to “vote with their feet” and boycott the proceedings.  In half of the precincts the turnout was less than 15% and in one area it was less than 6%.  Much can be inferred from this mass abstention.  It isn’t that those who chose not to cast their ballots are opposed to democracy; on the contrary, these people make up the very core of Lebanon’s pro-democracy movement.  Their protest is a reflection of their opposition to an unjust and unfair vestige of Syria’s total occupation of their country and that’s the so-called 2000 election law.  This Syrian rendition of political gerrymandering was meant to ensure the perpetuation of its status quo domination of Lebanese politics even after its armed presence in the country was no longer tenable.  Little did the Syrians know at the time of its imposition that many of their former allies and intended beneficiaries of this manipulation would, in the interim, become so ungrateful as to cloak themselves in the garments of an opposition movement that had long called for the removal of their forces from the country.  Alas, these ingrates and last-minute converts to the democratic process, namely the Hariri and the Jumblatt political organizations, now stand to benefit from the largesse of their former patrons, even while they have executed another 180° acrobatic turnaround and conveniently shed their opposition attire long enough to renew their alliances with the Hezbollah and Amal movements.  The dizzying effect of all this will most likely be the handing of power back to warlords, anti-Western radicals, and the heads of a few wealthy families namely an unknown and untested scion and newest poster-child of Lebanese political nepotism, Saad Hariri.  The bottom-line is nothing much will have changed.  Another confusing aspect of this political parody is that the US, although seemingly well intentioned, through the auspices of its oft-seen ambassador in Lebanon, seems to be supporting and even promoting this outcome.  Although the US deserves much credit for forcing the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, it was only the first step of a two-part problem, the second part being the occurrence of free and fair elections.  The US unfortunately appears not to understand this, as it seems unduly focused on the means and not the ends, insisting that the elections be held on time even under such imperfect circumstances.  The result of this first round of voting, at least in Beirut, is that the new members of parliament will have been appointed, as at least half of the seats were uncontested, and the remainder will be elected by about 25% of the electorate.  We must wait and see the results in the remainder of the country as voting continues today, but the friends of democracy are not optimistic.  CLAO considers this a real setback for democracy in Lebanon.  As first steps to be taken in redressing this situation, CLAO suggests the following: 

1)     That the newly elected parliament should only be considered a transitional one and its term be limited to 6 months or a maximum of one year.  The primary mission of this government should be to design a fair and just electoral law with the aim of legitimizing the election process and producing a truly representative parliament.

That any new election law has provisions for expatriate voting.  CLAO believes that this is a common component of the laws of all countries committed to the democratic process.  It is a fact that at least a 1/3 of the Lebanese population has left Lebanon since 1990, and their numbers are dwarfed by the total that left in prior decades.  Millions of Lebanese live outside of Lebanon, far out-numbering those inside the country.  Many emigrated for economic reasons, but many left because of reasons of political, religious or ethnic persecution.  Most live productive lives primarily in Western democracies, and many remain connected by reasons of familial ties, religion or otherwise, to the land of their origin.  Today these people are excluded from the process as the current laws makes no provision for their participation.  CLAO believes that their Western experiences and leanings, once infused into the Lebanese process, will have a diluting or purging effect on any perceived monopoly radical and anti-Western elements possess in the country.  CLAO sees such reform as positive and worthy of serious internal debate as well as international support.