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Man overseeing Lebanon vote frets about disruptions, vote buying

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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.

السفير الخازن للوطنية: المردود الإيجابي لزيارة البابا فرنسيس الى لبنان سيزداد في حال إقرار الاصلاحات ووضع خطة التعافي

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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".

Minister Sejaan Azzi: سُترةُ نجاة للانتخابات

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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.

Lebanon running out of passports, suspends renewal requests

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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 "affected available passport stocks," General Security said in a statement. Grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis, Lebanon has undergone a massive population exodus that is only worsening as politicians fail to chart a path towards recovery.

Lebanese authorities have yet to pay for more passports to be produced "at a time when the available amount of passports has started to run out," the agency added. "Accordingly, General Security was forced to stop work on the passport appointment platform as of 27 April," it said, clarifying that those with pre-existing appointments are still eligible for new travel documents. The suspension will last until funds are paid to the company contracted to issue new passports, it said, meaning those without existing appointments are left with no idea as to when they might get a new passport. Even those able to gain appointments have often had to wait months. According to an Arab Barometer survey published this month, around half of Lebanon's population is looking to exit the country.

Lebanese security forces warn of rise in kidnappings for ransom

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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.

LebElon? After Musk’s Twitter takeover, Lebanese plead with him to buy their country

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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 sees it, free speech, has given hope to some Lebanese people who are asking Musk to now consider buying their country. If Musk can revolutionize the electric-car industry and attempt to shake up social media, he’s surely capable of saving Lebanon, they argue. Even if he cannot and utterly fails in the attempt, as some commentators predict will be the case with Twitter, many in Lebanon query whether the situation in their country could get any worse. Some critics suggest that Musk is impulsive and brash and bought Twitter on a whim. That is simply not true; the move was very much premeditated. In fact, he had been contemplating it to some degree for more than four years.

In December 2017, he took to Twitter to share his love for the platform and when a user suggested he buy it, he asked how much it would cost. This month, Musk decided to make his move with little concern about whether the platform was for sale or not. In February, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation posted a message on Twitter asking Musk to make his satellite internet system, Starlink, available in Ukraine. Musk replied within 24 hours: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” It remains to be seen whether and how he will respond to the requests from some Lebanese people that he buy their country.

Fears grow over negative impact of Hezbollah victory in Lebanon elections

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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,”