سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

لا قيمةَ للديمقراطيّةِ على حسابِ الهُويّة الوطنيّة. ولا قيمةَ لأيِّ انتخاباتٍ ديمقراطيّةٍ إذا أدّت إلى نشوءِ ديكتاتوريّة. ولا قيمةَ للاستحقاقاتِ الدستوريّةِ إذا كانت تَصُبُّ في الانقلابِ على الدستور. وتاليًا لا يجوز الخجلُ من منعِ استغلالِ النظامِ الديمقراطيِّ وآليّاتِه ضِدَّ سيادةِ لبنان واستقلالِه وهُويّتِه اللبنانيّةِ الخاصّة. كنا ديمقراطيّين كفاية. في سياقِ هذا المنطقِ الوطنيِّ، نعتبرُ الانتخاباتِ النيابيّةَ المقرّرةَ في 15 أيّار المقبِل جَبهةَ نضالٍ لاستعادةِ لبنان لا استحقاقًا ديمقراطيًّا عاديًّا للاستيلاءِ على لبنان. إذا كان حزبُ الله يخوضُها كحربِ 2006، فواجبُنا أن نخوضَها كثورةِ 2005، ثورةِ الأرز.

من هنا، يَجدُر بالقِوى الاستقلاليّةِ، أكانت في الأحزابِ السياديّةِ أو في مجموعاتِ التغييِر الوطنيّة، أن تَنتصرَ في هذه الانتخاباتِ للتعويضِ عن فشلِها في "ثورة 17 تشرين". تبدأُ ركائزُ فوزِ هذا "الثنائيِّ الاستقلاليّ" بتشكيلِ لوائحَ مشترَكةٍ، بسحبِ فائضِ المرشَّحين الساقطين سلفًا، بوضعِ برنامجٍ سياسيٍّ/إصلاحيٍّ موحَّدٍ، بدعوةِ الأممِ المتّحدةِ إلى مراقبةِ العمليّةِ الانتخابيّة، وبمناشَدةِ الدولِ العربيّةِ الصديقة، وفي طليعتِها السعوديّة، لوقفِ إضرابِـها عن لبنان. خِلافَ ذلك يَصعُبُ على "الثنائيِّ الاستقلاليِّ" أن يكونَ على موعدٍ مع النجاحِ في الانتخابات.

interior Minister Mawlawi

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: The final number of candidates who will run for the May 15 Lebanese parliamentary elections is 1,043. The final total includes 155 women, 15 percent of the registered candidates. This is the highest number of candidates in Lebanese political history, with the number of candidates for one seat exceeding expectations in some electoral districts. In 2018, 976 candidates registered, including 111 women. The battle is being fought between the parties in power and the civil movement that accuses the authorities of corruption while opposing armed militias and what they call the Iranian occupation of Lebanon. The elected majority will form the new parliament that will elect the president who will rule the country in October. Opposition parties are hoping for urgent presidential reform after the reign of Michel Aoun, which has been filled with rivalries, political disputes and economic meltdown.

Candidates can finalize the electoral lists for each district until April 4, with the deadline for those who decide to withdraw their candidacy falling on March 30. They will not be permitted to withdraw their $1,500 deposit. The number of candidates expected to run on election day is anticipated to be halved due to the inability of everyone to join lists. Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said: “As the government promised, it is ready to hold the elections, and citizens must go to cast their votes, following their interests in a real homeland.” He called on the local and international community to participate in monitoring the polls to “ensure their transparency and integrity and the total impartiality of the government.” He said there are no “logistical obstacles” and that the government is working toward fulfilling all electoral needs. The current candidates are distinguished by the strong presence of lawyers, most notably the previous head of the Beirut Bar Association Melhem Khalaf, one of the activists in the civil movement, in addition to several media professionals.

interior Minister Mawlawi

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: The final number of candidates who will run for the May 15 Lebanese parliamentary elections is 1,043. The final total includes 155 women, 15 percent of the registered candidates. This is the highest number of candidates in Lebanese political history, with the number of candidates for one seat exceeding expectations in some electoral districts. In 2018, 976 candidates registered, including 111 women. The battle is being fought between the parties in power and the civil movement that accuses the authorities of corruption while opposing armed militias and what they call the Iranian occupation of Lebanon. The elected majority will form the new parliament that will elect the president who will rule the country in October. Opposition parties are hoping for urgent presidential reform after the reign of Michel Aoun, which has been filled with rivalries, political disputes and economic meltdown.

Candidates can finalize the electoral lists for each district until April 4, with the deadline for those who decide to withdraw their candidacy falling on March 30. They will not be permitted to withdraw their $1,500 deposit. The number of candidates expected to run on election day is anticipated to be halved due to the inability of everyone to join lists. Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said: “As the government promised, it is ready to hold the elections, and citizens must go to cast their votes, following their interests in a real homeland.” He called on the local and international community to participate in monitoring the polls to “ensure their transparency and integrity and the total impartiality of the government.” He said there are no “logistical obstacles” and that the government is working toward fulfilling all electoral needs. The current candidates are distinguished by the strong presence of lawyers, most notably the previous head of the Beirut Bar Association Melhem Khalaf, one of the activists in the civil movement, in addition to several media professionals.

by arabnews.com -- Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: With the candidacy deadline for the Lebanese parliamentary elections ending on Tuesday at midnight, over 875 applications had been submitted as of Tuesday afternoon. Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that work is underway “to secure IDs and personal status extracts, and all other voter needs. “We are working to secure electricity during the voting process and until the sorting of ballots ends.” The elections are scheduled to be held on May 15 amid a severe economic collapse that Lebanon has been enduring for two years and the possibility of the country slipping into further deterioration in the coming months. According to Mawlawi, 7,000 polling stations will be allocated throughout Lebanon. Meanwhile, Fouad Siniora has become the latest former premier to announce that he will not be running in the elections.

In January, former premier Saad Hariri announced his withdrawal from political life, expressing his conviction that “there is no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon in light of the Iranian influence, international confusion, national division, rise of sectarian tensions, and the deterioration of the state.” Hariri had also instructed members of the Future Movement, which he heads, to not contest the elections under the movement’s name, but he did not call on his supporters to boycott them. Former premier Tammam Salam and the current Prime Minister Najib Mikati also announced that they will not stand along with Lebanon’s former ambassador to the UN, Nawaf Salam, who is currently a permanent member of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Siniora told a press conference: “My decision not to run for the elections does not mean that I will be boycotting; on the contrary, I hope my position makes room for the new generation. I will be fully invested in the elections in all their aspects, without running for office.” He urged citizens to turn out to vote “so as not to allow opportunists to gain ground amid calls not to participate in this national duty.”