Headlines, Middle East & North Africa

LEBANON: Legal Flaws Could Twist Election Result

Brian D. Pellot

BEIRUT, Jun 1 2009 (IPS) - When Lebanon heads to the polls Jun. 7 to decide whether the Hizbullah-led opposition alliance will unseat the ruling Western-backed coalition, voter anonymity could be compromised by shortcomings in the 2008 parliamentary election law.

"The new law is a disaster," Paul Sawaya, Beirut district coordinator with the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections told IPS. "Some of the reforms are good, but many others still need to be adopted."

Reforms under the current law require voters to enter private booths, seal their ballots in official envelopes, slide them into transparent ballot boxes, and dip their thumbs in indelible ink. These reforms, while championed by local watchdog organisations, fail to address a source of corruption that has altered Lebanese elections for decades – the lack of official standardised ballots.

The proposal for an official ballot listing all eligible candidates in each electoral district was rejected along with other reforms designed to promote fair and democratic elections when the finalised electoral law was adopted in September 2008.

"All parties said they were with the pre-printed ballots, but when it came to parliament, no one voted for it," Lynne Ghossein, programme director at the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) told IPS. "The current system provides a means to buy votes, so of course political figures did not want this reform."

According to Sawaya, ballot papers are typically produced by political parties in each district and list only the candidates they endorse for each seat. If voters opt to forego pre-printed party ballots, they may write the names of candidates they wish to elect on a blank piece of paper.

The current law explicitly states, however, that any ballot papers containing identification marks shall be considered spoilt. This inherent contradiction leaves the validity of write-in ballots at the discretion of polling officials.

The party ballots can be meticulously tailored through font size, layout and design before being distributed to families. "This system allows electoral machines to track who is voting for them," Sawaya told IPS.

The law permits party agents to monitor polling stations, ballot counting, and ballot reviews, providing them ample opportunity to identify these embedded distinguishing ballot features during the election. Without an official ballot, parties can effectively intimidate voters and offer in-kind and cash incentives by monitoring their compliance at the polls.

Jean-Michel Abouhamad de Tarrazi who is managing the campaign for his mother Gilberte Zwein, MP, told IPS, "The influence of money in this election is a disaster. My mother is in a really good position, but things will depend on how many people her opponents are able to bribe. If they can buy a few thousand people, it could definitely change the outcome."

Many citizens fed up with the state of Lebanese politics plan to demonstrate their democratic rights by sealing a blank, unmarked piece of paper inside their official envelopes. Others will simply not vote.

Sawaya plans to submit a blank piece of paper in protest. "There are no candidates, parties or programmes that are fulfilling my expectations," he told IPS. "I want to show that I disagree with all of them."

Sawaya told IPS that many disgruntled voters cast blank votes in past elections to voice their dissatisfaction with candidates. These votes will be considered valid for the first time this election under a provision in the new law stating that blank ballots shall be counted. These could measure the extent of dissatisfaction with the electoral process.

Michel Abdallah, who has lived in Beirut his entire life, is required to vote an hour's drive north in Byblos due to regulations stating that citizens must vote in their district of family origin. He plans to stay home rather than brave the cross-country election day traffic.

"I don't believe in idealism any more, and I don't care about the international politics. I want something for Lebanon, not for Iran or Saudi Arabia," Abdallah told IPS. "If you run for parliament, you should work for your area. These guys work for their pockets and for prestige."

Gaelle Kibranian, another programmes director at LTA, believes that implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Lebanon ratified last year, could greatly reduce some of the problems facing Lebanese politics.

"This would have a great impact on upcoming elections. It would allow for the development of access to information laws, and whistleblowers, and would help citizens stand and provide testimony that they were bribed," Kibranian told IPS.

LTA will include provision of official ballots in its advocacy and lobbying strategy post-elections to improve transparency, anonymity and stability in the electoral process.

"The politics in Lebanon over the last few years has been completely dominated by polarised sectarianism and security issues, leaving very little room for substantive debate," Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch in Lebanon told IPS.