❊ Changing Lebanon’s Election Law

Osama Safa, secretary general of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections:

Things are heating up and it’s about time that we heat up our action. It’s about time that we make our voices heard. Civil society has been taken for granted for too long, possibly because we are peaceful and we are trying to do this by dialogue

Here’s the thing: The people who are enjoying the benefits of the status quo are the same people who are entrusted with changing it. The M.Ps who are in parliament are not motivated to change an election law which brought them to power, so they need to be constantly harassed -yes harassed- into making a change.

The Lebanese civil society had previous successes with advocacy campaigns that eventually got MPs creating laws (Women issues, smoking bans & Internet speed), but getting them to change the election law is on a completely different playing field. It touches on their very source of power, and it will need the best we can give as civil society, activists and media in terms of energy and persistence.

You know how whenever we have a conversation about politics in Lebanon, it always eventually ends with a depressed resignation that sectarianism — as represented by the current power structure — is what is screwing everything up and that there’s nothing we can do about it?

Remember those endless conversations about “where to start in fixing Lebanon”, which invariably conclude that the best way is to wait generations for our kids to grow up without sectarianism and perhaps then things will change?

Changing the election law is the closest we can get to a meaningful new beginning. There is no doubt that a modern electoral law will lead to more representation and to a breakup of sectarian monopolies of power. It will allow smaller, more creative parties to emerge, and it will force a real competition four our hearts and minds.

Is this worth nagging about? Is it worth harassing the politicians for? Is it worth making public stunts, public campaigns, writing blog posts, tweeting and demonstrating whenever we can? Is it worth writing to foreign powers and donors and democracy advocates to pressure our politicians?

Damn right it is! And we should resolve ourselves to spare no energy until a change takes place.