By Bachir el-Khoury – Al Monitor

Lebanon’s civil society has actively called over the last few months for a law based on proportional representation, as well as a series of reforms that are considered to be necessary for the transparency of the electoral process. With the new law in place and with the parliament’s term expiring June 20, Lebanese civil society is now preparing itself for the second phase of its battle: participation in the upcoming elections, expected in 11 months, after the current parliament extended its term for the third consecutive time since 2013. “This is definitely a positive step, yet insufficient,” said Zeina el-Helou, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections. “The parties in power have minimized the effect of the proportional representation and sustained confessionalism through the number and division of districts. This is not to mention that several essential reforms, such as the female quota, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 or the creation of an independent authority, were not included in the law.” She continued: “In addition, the electoral expenditures have been effectively increased; in fact, to the individual $100,000 allowed disbursements — that are yet to be capped now, while there was no explicit ceiling before — another $100,000 was added, that can be disbursed by the electoral list on each candidate. A third reform is the rise of the permitted variable expenditure per voter to 5,000 Lebanese pounds, [compared to] 4,000 Lebanese pounds in 2009.” Concretely, this translated into more than $500,000 of legal expenditures in a district of 100,000 voters.

Despite these failures and the postponement of elections until May 2018, the battle to break through the next parliament is already underway. Nadine Moussa is an active member of Lebanese civil society who will participate in the elections as an “independent candidate,” she told Al-Monitor. “My decision is in line with my personal struggle for years in favor of a state of law, but it is also motivated by a deep conviction that the Lebanese are more than ever thirsty for a serious and solid alternative to the current feudal, confessional and corrupt system of governance that has been in place for decades,” she added. “I also decided to run in the elections in order to contribute to a feminine dynamic against the traditional ‘men’s club.’” In 2013, Moussa, a lawyer and mother of two children, submitted her candidacy with other members of the Take Back Parliament movement, before the Lebanese Assembly decided not to hold any elections and to extend its term. Other activists within civil society are also potential candidates. Artist Nada Sehnaoui had already run in the 1998 municipal elections before appearing again in 2016 as a candidate on the Beirut Madinati list, which included 12 women and 12 men from different professional backgrounds. The list was pitted against another that was supported by all the political parties in power. Against the odds, Beirut Madinati gathered nearly 40% of the votes — a “civil” phenomenon observed for the first time in a country that has always been dominated by traditional confessional parties. Beirut Madinati has quickly become a label of alternative governance and progressivism among the Lebanese. If the coalition officially decides not to participate in the legislative ballot, some of its members will run individually or within a group of Beirut Madinati.

“I have not yet made my final decision, but this is secondary. My candidate is the political program that will be adopted by a united civil society,” Sehnaoui told Al-Monitor. Since July 2016, an informal team of activists that Nada Sehnaoui joined has been working on this front. “The idea is to create the nucleus of a broad coalition that would include all individuals, movements and parties wishing to run in the elections on the basis of a program that would encompass all the dimensions of public life, including economic, social and environmental policies and reforms,” she said. While some activists are still hesitant, emerging parties, such as Sabaa (Arabic for seven), have already started their battle and are forging their electoral lists in several parts of the country. “Sabaa has now more than 2,000 members, a large network of contacts and key members with substantial experience in policymaking,” Ziad Hayek, the director of the party’s board, told Al-Monitor. Hayek has been the secretary-general of the High Council for Privatization since 2006, a highly ranked public position he maintained despite his decision to rally and actively contribute to the Social Movement in 2015, amid an unprecedented waste crisis in the country. “I don’t intend to run in the elections, but I fully support the current driving energy among some groups. … I have been living an internal dilemma, not to say a revolt, for several years now because no public policy issue has ever been taken seriously since I joined office,” he said.

By Rami Rayess – middle-east-online.com – BEIRUT Cabinet meeting at the presidential palace of Baabda Lebanon’s protracted politi­cal crisis seems to be com­ing to an end. After many troubled months, indica­tors point to consensus has been reached over a new elec­toral law with fresh alliances are forming ahead of the introduction of a new voting […]

by Al Jazeera – Lebanon’s parliament has ratified a new electoral law, paving the way for the first national elections since 2009. The law passed with a broad majority on Friday after weeks of intensive negotiations between the country’s various parties. The new law preserves the seat allocations in parliament to the country’s various Muslim and […]

byPeter Alagos  – Property service provider Just Real Estate unveiled on Tuesday ‘View Bchamoun’, the company’s latest project in Lebanon, during a ceremony held at JRE’s sales centre at Al Shoumoukh Tower in Doha. Located 200 metres above sea level in Aley, a district in Mount Lebanon, the View Bchamoun project offers potential investment options in the luxury residential and lifestyle destination, said engineer Nasser al-Ansari, JRE chairman, who noted that the project is expected to be completed “by the end of 2018.” The complex comprises 144 apartments, with options from two- to four-bedrooms, distributed across nine sophisticated buildings, said al-Ansari, adding View Bchamoun’s design reflects Lebanon’s lush green mountain surrounds; designers and developers created a holistic residential hub with a focus on the residents’ well-being. Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the event, al-Ansari noted that Lebanon is one of JRE’s key markets. “There is a large Lebanese community demanding investment opportunities, and as a trustworthy property developer, we can assure them that Just Real Estate can cater to their needs.” “Also, Qatar has a large Lebanese community and to reach out to them, we have launched marketing and advertising campaigns on social media, and we are also launching the project in Lebanon,” al-Ansari further said.

 By Libya Herald reporter – Paris-based Lebanese academic Ghassan Salamé is the front-runner to replace current Lybia UN special envoy Martin Kobler when he leaves the job at the end of the month, high-level diplomatic sources say. According to one diplomat, Salamé, a former Lebanese government minister, is the favourite out of four candidates. His […]

Source Naharnet After marathon talks and an eleventh-hour agreement, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new electoral law based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts, replacing the winner-takes-all system for the first time in the country’s history. The Cabinet also approved an 11-month technical extension of parliament’s term until May 20, 2018, and stipulated that the elections should be held within the 60 days that precede the expiry of the legislature’s term. Media reports said the elections will be held on May 6. Ahead of the session, a committee was formed to “reformulate” the law format and fine-tune it. Aoun congratulated the conferees at the beginning of the session on what he described as a “great achievement,” noting that “the majoritarian system (the 1960 law) did not secure just representation.”

“Cabinet will remain in session until it approves it,” he added. For his part, Hariri stated that the “1960 law is behind us now and the extension we resort to is technical in order to hold modern, transparent and fair elections.” After approval, the law was sent to Parliament for ratification, and Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a session for 2:00 pm Friday. Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised the new elections law as a “historic achievement.” The agreement came days before the legislature’s term was to end on June 20 — avoiding sending the country into a fresh political crisis. Before the session began, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced that he would request a one-year technical extension of parliament’s term, explaining that preparing electronic cards for voters requires no less than seven months.

Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan said: “The significance of the newly approved law is that it introduced a proportional representation system for the first time, although we would have favored that the (so-called) preferential vote be counted in the electoral district instead of the administrative district.” For his part, Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh criticized the format saying “it takes us back to sectarianism instead of distancing it away.” Aoun and Hariri had held a closed-door meeting before the cabinet convened and discussed the rest of the law details. They were joined later by Mashnouq. The electoral draft law splits Beirut into two districts and moves the minorities seat to the first district. The first district contains Ashrafieh, Rmeil, Saifi and Medawwar while the second contains Bashoura, Marfa, Zokak al-Blat, Mazraa, Ras Beirut, Ain el-Mreisseh, Minet el-Hosn and Mousaitbeh.

BEIRUT(Xinhua) — Visiting Cyprus Foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulidis stressed Tuesday his country’s support to Lebanon in the face of terrorism and the disputed oil blocks with Israel. Kasoulidis said in a joint press conference after meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil “we cannot stand and watch Lebanon under [the threat] of terrorism without taking […]

by naharnet

A final political agreement was reached Tuesday afternoon on the 15-district electoral law and the Cabinet is expected to approve it during its session on Wednesday. “An agreement has been reached on the electoral law and all obstacles have been resolved,” LBCI television reported. According to MTV, the draft law splits Beirut into two districts and moves the minorities seat to the first district. The first district contains Ashrafieh, Rmeil, Saifi and Medawwar while the second contains Bashoura, Marfa, Zokak al-Blat, Mazraa, Ras Beirut, Ain el-Mreisseh, Minet el-Hosn and Mousaitbeh.

The parties also agreed that any electoral list has to reach a certain threshold to become eligible to win seats. The threshold is determined by the so-called electoral quotient: the total number of voters in a certain district divided by the number of seats. The so-called preferred vote will meanwhile be counted in the administrative district and not in the electoral district, a demand that the Free Patriotic Movement had long called for.

An agreement was also reached on other technical details while no agreement was reached on the issues of “allowing the armed forces to vote, lowering the voting age and introducing a women’s quota.” The parties also agreed that expat voting will be introduced in the next elections and that the diaspora will be granted six seats. President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri are meanwhile supposed to agree on the elections date, as per the agreement.

by Nazeer Rida – english.aawsat.com  Beirut – A meeting between Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Sunday helped overcome some of the remaining obstacles that are hindering the approval of a new parliamentary electoral law. The meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda raised the level of optimism in the country that the thorny electoral law dispute will be resolved after years of political wrangling. The lingering differences over the current law lies in the distribution of seats in electoral districts and if the preferential vote should be held on the basis of the district or province (qadaa), revealed Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan. Hariri said after his talks with the president: “The meeting with Aoun was positive and we should speed up the drafting of the new electoral law.” The premier stated that the drafting should be complete before Wednesday’s cabinet session. Lebanon witnessed a flurry of political consultations last week in an attempt to eliminate the remaining obstacles in the electoral law and set a date for the parliamentary elections that have been twice postponed due to dispute over the law. The factions are also seeking to extend parliament’s term before it expires on June 20.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stated that “time is running up”. “It is unacceptable for us to reach vacuum,” he added, warning that vacuum will not be limited to parliament, but it will extend to the whole state. He stressed: “We will forge ahead with openness and positivity to reach an agreement.” He called for the adoption of an electoral law that is based on proportional representation and 15 districts, saying that there are no disputes over the essence of the new law. Adwan echoed Khalil’s statements, adding that some issues of contention will be resolved this week. The differences center on the preferential vote, he said. “If we failed to reach an agreement, then we have no choice but to resort to a vote on it,” he explained. The MP also denied that there are differences between the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement, saying: “We are in agreement over 98 points, while two remain.” Should a new law be adopted, then the date of the parliamentary elections will be set by the president and prime minister. “The economic situation in the country depends on the adoption of this law,” stated Adwan. Mustaqbal Movement MP Mohammed al-Hajjar meanwhile called for “preparing for the polls as if they were taking place tomorrow.” He pledged that a new law will be approved soon and all officials should be responsible for preparing the country for voters to head to the ballot boxes to practice their democratic rights. Not all sides in Lebanon have been pleased with the latest developments regarding the law, as Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh lashed out at the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement saying that they had reneged on an agreement made with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki. “They have gone against what we agreed on at Bkirki. Their fear has driven them to devise electoral laws that suit their interests,” he noted.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) FALUGA, Lebanon, June 11 (KUNA) –– Kuwait inaugurated on Sunday Sadd (Dam) Al-Qaismani project in Faluqa town, funded by #Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). The ceremony was attended Lebanese ministers and senior officials, including KFAED Director General Abdulwahab Al-Bader, #Kuwait Acting Charge d’Affaires Mohammad Al-Wugayyan, and KFAED Operation Director […]