Change Lebanon’s System?

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri once again failed to reach a deal to create a cabinet. Michel Aoun is now insisting on receiving either the Justice Ministry or the Public Works and Transportation Ministry if he gives up the coveted Telecommunications Ministry. However, MP Walid Jumblatt, who currently controls the Public Works and Transportation Ministry, rejected the suggestion of a trade. Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir declared “weapons and democracy cannot coexist, nor can the majority and the minority meet in one government.”

In addition, the Lebanese watchdog organization Maharat criticized the media’s coverage of this summer’s elections yesterday. According to a report issued by the organization, the media failed to reach minimum standards of objectivity and balance, as required by law.

Osama Gharizi contends in The Daily Star that ”if you want national-unity government in Lebanon, change the electoral system to one of proportional representation.” Currently, Lebanon operates under a majoritarian bloc vote system where the winning party earns the prerogative to form a cabinet of its choosing. However, the opposition is arguing that, because it won the popular vote in the previous election, they should have a share in government. But Gharizi dismisses such a demand as “anathema” under the current system. Instead, he suggests moving to a proportional vote system which “is usually preferred for countries with multiple confessions or ethnicities, like Lebanon, since it alone can guarantee that all groups, or parties that represent those groups, will be represented in Parliament and the Cabinet.”

Rima Merhi argues in The Christian Science Monitor that “Washington only sees Hezbollah as a military wing backed by Syria and Iran. To make any headway, the U.S. must acknowledge the diversity of Hezbollah’s supporters and move beyond the group’s military side to appreciate the religious, political, economic, and social ties that connect Hezbollah with its supporters.” The Daily Star  reports that a Hezbollah delegation asked the Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud to extend greater government control over the southern suburbs of Beirut, a traditional Hezbollah stronghold.