by reuters — Leaving his office this week, the 80-year-old head of Lebanon’s election commission escorted journalists down eight flights of stairs, lighting the way with a mobile phone. As elsewhere in the country, severe power rationing meant the lift and lights were off – symptoms of an economic collapse that has pushed more than three quarters of the population into poverty. 

Less than three weeks before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, retired judge Nadim Abdelmalak is worried about what the crisis means for the fairness of the process. He said his team was understaffed to oversee voting properly, ballots could easily be bought and candidates with more means were at a huge advantage over those without. “These elections will have violations,” Abdelmalak told Reuters this week.

Lebanon’s financial meltdown has seen the lira lose 90 percent of its value since 2019 and people have been unable to access hard currency savings, hitting all sections of society. The elections will be the first opportunity since then for people to choose lawmakers, amid widespread disillusionment over political leaders and despair at what has happened to Lebanon. Some election observers are concerned that candidates would be able to secure votes by distributing food, fuel, or other basic needs that are now beyond the reach of many. “This is undoubtedly going to play a role. There are a lot of people who are going to sell their votes. These factors are going to hit the integrity and transparency of the elections,” said Abdelmalak.

وطنية – الفاتيكان – أوضح سفير لبنان لدى الكرسي الرسولي فريد الياس الخازن أن “زيارة قداسة البابا فرنسيس الى لبنان في حزيران المقبل تأتي تجسيدا لرغبة عبر عنها مرارا وفي غير مناسبة، وتلبية لدعوة وجهها إليه مجددا فخامة الرئيس العماد ميشال عون خلال زيارته الأخيرة الى الكرسي الرسولي”.  

ولفت في حديث الى “الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام” الى انه “كان من المتوقع ان تتم الزيارة هذه السنة، كما أشار وزير خارجية الفاتيكان المطران بول ريتشارد كالغر خلال زيارته الاخيرة الى لبنان، لكن من دون تحديد موعدها”. وقال: “لقد تم الإعلان عن زيارات الحبر الاعظم الخارجية في شهر تموز المقبل الى جنوب السودان وكندا وربما الكونغو. زيارة لبنان أرادها قداسته بعد الانتخابات النيابية المقررة في 15 ايار، وفي ذلك رسالة واضحة الى أنها غير متصلة بالشأن السياسي الداخلي، وتداركا لعدم توظيف الحدث في التجاذبات السياسية المعهودة.”

وأشار الى أن “الزيارة تتم في ظروف في لبنان والمحيط الاقليمي تختلف عن تلك التي سادت عندما زار البابا القديس يوحنا بولس الثاني لبنان في 1997 وأعلن الارشاد الرسولي المنبثق عن السينودس الكنسي الخاص حول لبنان، وكذلك زيارة البابا بندكتوس السادس عشر في 2012 التي تم خلالها اعلان الارشاد الرسولي حول الشرق الاوسط. وقبل عقود، كانت زيارة خاطفة للبابا القديس بولس السادس في 1964 وهو في طريقه الى الهند، آتيا من القدس”.

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

ما شَكَّك اللبنانيّون في انتخاباتٍ نيابيّةٍ بقدْرِ ما يُشكِّكون في انتخاباتِ 15 أيّار المقبِل. أسبابُ التشكيكِ عدةٌ، أبرزُها: الارتيابُ بنيّاتِ السلطة، التخوّفُ من الوضعِ الأمنيِّ، التوجُّسُ من التدهورِ الماليّ والفوضى، وعدمُ الثقةِ بأنَّ الانتخاباتِ ستؤدّي إلى التغييرِ الإيجابيِّ المنشود.

منذ اتّفاقِ الطائف، جميعُ الاستحقاقاتِ الانتخابيّةِ مدارُ تشكيكٍ وإرجاء. النظامُ الديمقراطيُّ مُعلّقٌ بحكمِ سوءِ تطبيقِ دستورِ الطائف وسوءِ تفسيره. وفي الحالتين بحكمِ سوءِ النيّة. اسْتعيضَ عن مجلسِ الشيوخِ بمجلسِ مشايخَ مُصغّرٍ يَتحَكّمُ بالبلادِ بموازاةِ رئاسةِ الجمهوريّةِ ورئاستَي المجلسِ النيابيِّ والحكومة. واستُبدِلَت قاعدةُ الموالاةِ والمعارَضة ببِدعةِ “التوافقيّةِ” التي صَبَّت في مصلحةِ الأقوى عسكريًّا وليس في مصلحةِ الأضْعفِ ميثاقيًّا، فــثَــبَّــتَت فدراليّةً مُقنَّعةً في نظامٍ مركزيٍّ صُوَريٍّ. هذه كانت الحالُ في زمنِ النظامِ الأمنيِّ اللبنانيِّ/السوريّ، وهي مستمِرّةٌ في زمنِ النظامِ الأمنيِّ اللبنانيِّ/الإيرانيّ. البلادُ محكومةٌ من خارجِ نظامِها ودستورِها وشرعيّتِها، وخصوصًا ضِدَّ إرادةِ شعبِها. هذه انتخاباتٌ حيّةٌ في نظامٍ مَيت.

رغم ذلك، تراهنُ قوى سياسيّةٌ على الانتخاباتِ النيابيّةِ المقبِلةِ، ويُراقِبها المجتمعُ الدُوليُّ كأنَّ من صناديقِها سيُطِلُّ فجرُ لبنانَ الجديد. لكنَّ الجميعَ يَتغافلُ قصدًا أنَّ هذه الانتخاباتِ، على أهميّتِها في هذا الظرف، زُوِّرت قَبل أن تبدأَ وصارت قابلةً للطعنِ، وأنَّ نتائجَها وضيعةٌ بعدَ أن تَصدرَ. فالأكثريّةُ المنتظرةُ، أكانت لصالحِ الموالين أو المعارِضين، ستكون نسبيّةً وضئيلةَ الفارِق، وبالتالي دون القدرةِ على إجراءِ التعديلاتِ المصيريّةِ والجذريّةِ لأنَّ هذه تَتطلّبُ أكثريّةَ الثُلثين. بدأ تزويرُ الإرادةِ الشعبيّةِ والميثاقيّةِ في هذه الانتخاباتِ من خلالِ الشوائبِ التالية:

أوّلًا: نوعيّةُ قانونِ الانتخاب الذي يَصلُحُ لدولةٍ تقوم على نظامٍ حزبيٍّ حَصريّ، بينما اعتمادُه في الواقعِ السياسيِّ اللبنانيِّ يُوفّرُ الفوزَ سلفًا لقوى المنظومةِ السياسيّةِ المستهدَفةِ بمشروعِ التغيير.

by english.alaraby.co.uk — The agency in charge of issuing passports in Lebanon said Thursday it has stopped taking appointments for renewals because of a rush that has depleted stocks of new passports. Since 2020, requests for passport renewals have been ten times higher than in previous years, which has piled pressure on passport centres and […]

by arabnews.com — Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s security forces have warned citizens and residents that there has been a rise in kidnappings in the country, with perpetrators seeking large sums of money for the safe return of their victims. The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces, or ISF, said that these gangs have been using social media to lure their victims, often through ads on TikTok, claiming they can help with emigration applications. The gangs are mostly active in the Baalbek-Hermel area and on the Lebanese-Syrian border, but also operate deep in Syrian territory. A security source told Arab News that between Jan. 1 and April 20, the security services in Lebanon recorded 53 cases of kidnapping in Lebanon.

A few days ago, the Lebanese army’s intelligence officers managed to liberate local businessman Akram Jomaa seven hours after he was kidnapped in the town of Lala in the western Bekaa. The kidnappers had fled with him to the Baalbek-Hermel area in the northern part of Bekaa and tried to sell him to another gang. They demanded that his family pay a ransom for his return, but he was eventually released between the towns of Dar Al-Waseah and Bouday, in the vicinity of Baalbek.

this is an opinion article does not represent khazen.org  by arabnews.com — DUBAI: Eccentric entrepreneur, random tweeter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk this week bought his favorite social media platform, Twitter, for $44 billion — an amount approximately the equivalent of the gross domestic product of Jordan. Musk’s ambition to “save” Twitter and, as he […]

by english.alarabiya.net — Hussein Dakroub — Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has warned that Lebanon will be deprived of promised regional and international aid if Hezbollah and its allies control the country by winning a parliamentary majority in the elections set for May 15. “There are no signs that Arab and international aid will be forthcoming if Hezbollah continues to control Lebanon,” Siniora told Al Arabiya English on Monday.

In another statement carried earlier in the day by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, Siniora, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, said: “What does it mean if Hezbollah and its allies gain a majority in Parliament? Amid Hezbollah’s control [of Parliament], will there be a possibility for any salvation, reforms, and Lebanon’s recovery after it was pushed into this deep abyss: a kidnapped state, a fully collapsing economy, the threat of depositors losing their money and the need for reforms in all aspects of life such as electricity, water, food, medicine and education? Definitely, no.” “With the expansion of the control of Hezbollah and the sectarian and confessional parties allied with it, this will be at the expense of the Lebanese state and its institutions, which will lead to the continued implementation of Iran’s agenda in the region. In this case, there will be no aid and no Arab or international support,” Siniora added.

Although he is not running in the upcoming polls, Siniora is supporting an 11-member electoral list that will compete to gain mainly Sunni seats in parliament in the Beirut district after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri decided to remove himself from political life. A professor of economics and international relations agreed with Siniora, warning that an election victory for Hezbollah and its allies will further complicate the Lebanese crises and impede efforts for the country’s economic rescue. “A victory by Hezbollah and its allies in the elections is bound to block the road to the possibility of Lebanon’s economic salvation. Consequently, the situation will continue to deteriorate and Lebanon will no longer exist on the map because the economic collapse means the state’s inability to survive, while it is already unable to survive,”

by arabnews.com — RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has signed two deals to support the food and health fields in Lebanon. The memorandums of understanding were signed in the Lebanese capital Beirut with the French ministry for foreign affairs and the French Development Agency, the Saudi Press Agency reported […]

by nna-leb.gov.lb

وطنية – شدد “لقاء الجمهورية” خلال اجتماعه الدوري عبر تطبيق “زوم” برئاسة الرئيس ميشال سليمان، على “أهمية الاستحقاق الانتخابي في 15 أيار، كون مجلس النواب العتيد سينتخب رئيس الجمهورية المقبل، وهذا ما يُرتب مسؤولية كبيرة على المواطن الناخب المفترض ان يعلم انه مصدر السلطات، فيحاسب حيث يجب ان يحاسب، ويُطلق ثورته الخاصة خلف العازل، وهي الثورة القادرة على التغيير الحقيقي، فيما لو اقتنع الشعب اللبناني بفكرة الانتخاب السياسي، وليس الانتخاب العقائدي أو العاطفي أو الزبائني”.

وقال: “نلفت المقترعين الى ان خيارهم ينبغي ان يكون الى جانب حصر السلاح بيد الدولة، وتحييد لبنان عن صراعات المحاور وليس لصالح اللوائح التي ترفع شعار الاكثرية النيابية لحماية السلاح، في حين يجب ان يكون هذا الفوز المنشود من قبل ذاك الفريق ضمانة للتخلي عن السلاح غير الشرعي الذي يحول دون تحقيق سيادة الدولة وانقاذها من الانهيار”.

Beirut – Paula Astih — english.aawsat.com — Pope Francis’ visit to Lebanon on June 12-13 is of great importance to many Lebanese who see it as a gateway to hope after all the difficulties that the country has experienced since 2019. Preparations are underway for the Pontiff’s visit, in coordination between Lebanese and Vatican officials. In mid-April, the cabinet assigned Tourism Minister Walid Nassar to chair a ministerial committee to prepare for the Pope’s visit. The Maronite Patriarchate appointed Archbishop Michel Aoun to represent the Catholic Church in the committee.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the Papal Ambassador to Lebanon sent the Vatican a draft of the visit program established by the executive body of the Council of Patriarchs with the Papal Embassy, in coordination with the Presidential Palace. According to Nassar, a Vatican committee will visit Lebanon on April 27 to closely review the program and visit the sites that the Pontiff will tour. Nassar told Asharq Al-Awsat that he will have completed the formation of the media, financial, logistical, and security committees that will organize the visit. He revealed that the Pope wants his visit to Lebanon to be “modest and simple,” considering that it will be “national and spiritual,” as he will call for a culture of dialogue, peace, and love. After all the turmoil they went through in the past few years, the Lebanese people proved that they are strong, and the Pope’s visit will be a positive shock after all the adverse shocks, most notably the explosion of the Beirut Port, said the Minister. Archbishop Aoun stresses that the visit “gives hope to the Lebanese people.”