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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region Focus International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The morning after
By Ranwa YehiaPosters of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Lebanon are rapidly taking over every possible building, billboard and street in the country. With elections less than two months away, "election fever" is on the rise.
The expected Israeli withdrawal and its realisation on 24 May kept the election debate in a state of flux. Now that the excitement of the post-liberation period has subsided, major political figures have resumed working round-the-clock on debating alliances.
The elections, due to take place on 27 August and 3 September, are now in the forefront. The extensively-debated election law was finally issued by Parliament in January, producing a 14-district division arrangement criticised by many as a law designed to produce pre-determined results. For example, keeping the two Mount Lebanon districts of Chouf (a Druze and Christian area) and Metn (a Christian area) as separate districts is designed to guarantee wins for Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Interior Minister Michel Murr respectively.
Also, dividing Beirut into three districts (as opposed to one in the past) would secure Sunni za'ama (leadership) for Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss, former premier Rafik Al-Hariri and MP Tammam Salam (whose father, Saeb, was an influential political pillar in Lebanese history).
Under the 14-district plan, critics say, the country's political leaders will be "cut down to size" and prevent any effective parliamentary blocs from forming.
Despite the rhetoric that Syria would not interfere in Lebanon's domestic affairs as much as in the past, many politicians and parties have not yet made a decision regarding alliances as they wait for "guidance from Damascus."
In fact, indications of Syrian sponsorship appeared as early as late February, when an agreement in principle between Hizbullah and Amal to cooperate during the elections was made.
The actual implementation of this agreement was more likely only one week after the liberation, when Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah announced that the resistance party would not use its victory for electoral gain. Nasrallah also said he would fully cooperate with all other parties to ensure maximum stability in south Lebanon.
As one expert in parliamentary elections put it: "The irony is that, compared to the 1996 polls, the election law was issued early this time but with only six weeks to go for the elections, only one complete list has been announced and even that was Syrian-mediated."
Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, repeatedly complained that Syrian influence continues to loom over the country's domestic affairs.
Although Sfeir expresses the frustrations of many among Lebanon's Christian community, observers believe they will not have an effect on the influx of Christian voters during the election period. While Christian boycott was strong in 1992, it became weaker in 1996 and seems to be heading this way during the 2000 elections too.
The expert was referring to the fact that the election law was issued seven months before the election date this round as opposed to 1996 when the law was issued only one week prior to the polls, thus keeping candidates unaware of the district they would contest.
The absence of specific electoral programmes is also disappointing observers who had hoped for a meaningful round which, to the day, seems far-fetched.
After the election law passed, the government produced a draft law to regulate campaigns and media coverage that was widely criticised for being out of focus and impractical, especially with Lebanon's banking secrecy laws.
Influential politicians, including Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, demanded that the legislation, which among other things puts a ceiling on electoral expenditures, be sent to Parliament for amendment.
Although the draft law finally went to Parliament, the issue died and the legislation was never discussed. Observers will keenly watch the results when it comes to Al-Hariri, Walid Jumblatt, Berri and Hizbullah, especially when the post-election struggle for naming a new prime minister gets underway. President Emile Lahoud and other officials have guaranteed the authorities' neutrality, the president's 25-year old son Emile Jr. is contemplating running for a seat in the Mount Lebanon district of Metn.
