The Debate Over Lebanon's 'Democracy' Intensifies
There is intense debate about the need for a new elections law in Lebanon, which has not witnessed a rotation in power as a result of elections in its 60 years of independence, writes Jean Aziz.
In Lebanon today there is an intense political conflict and violent debate about the need for a new law regarding parliamentary elections, which are supposed to take place throughout the country in a single day during the first week of June. This conflict involves a confrontation between the majority — represented by the current government — and its opponents.
However, the reality of the crisis and its roots go beyond questions of law, elections, and even agreements between the two sides. It is, deep down, an internal crisis within the government itself, and involves the government's relations with the outside, including those nearby, represented by the situation in neighboring Damascus, and those afar, represented by the present administration in Washington.
In form, the battle over the new law regarding parliamentary elections seems earnest. This is the first such battle in the history of this country, which was established in the shadow of the French Mandate in 1920, and gained its independence from the authorities in Paris in 1943.
But the striking paradox in Lebanon's political and electoral life is that throughout the country's 60 years of independence the country has not witnessed a rotation in power as a result of general parliamentary elections. In a sense, the Lebanese have not seen any actual democratic change through the ballot box. Yet given this fact, or perhaps because of it, it has always been said that Lebanon is the only "democracy" in the Arab region.
