Report of the
National
Commission
on Parliamentary
Electoral Law Reform
Submitted to
His Excellency
Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora
May 31st,
2006
The National Commission on Parliamentary
Electoral Law Reform created by virtue of
Decision no 58 dated 8/8/2005 of the Council of
Ministers, has the honor to submit to Your
Excellency the report mentioned in Clause 7
thereof.
First: Appointment and tasks of the National
Commission on Parliamentary Electoral Law
In an initiative unprecedented in modern
Lebanese history, the Council of Ministers
decided, on 8/8/2005, to appoint the “National
Commission on Parliamentary Electoral Law
Reform”.
Indeed, the new Government
made good on its promises stated in its
ministerial statement that “it would, after its
confirmation, appoint a national commission that
would draft a new electoral law securing, under
the umbrella of the Taef Agreement, a fair
representation of the Lebanese people within the
democratic parliamentary framework (…)”. It also
undertook to “subsequently refer the appropriate
draft law within one month to Parliament for
discussion by Parliamentary committees and by
the General Assembly”.
Indeed, the Council of Ministers appointed such
a Commission chaired by former minister Fouad
Boutros and made up of eleven members whose
names are (in the same order as in the
Appointment Decision): Ghaleb Mahmassany, Michel
Tabet, Zouheir Shokr, Ghassan Abou Alwan, Ziyad
Baroud, Nawaf Salam (appointed by the Commission
as Secretary), Abdel Salam Sheaib, Fayez Hajj
Shahine, Paul Salem, Khaldoun Naja, and Arda
Ekmekji.
As per the Appointment Decision, the mission of
the Commission is:
“to propose means to reform the electoral system
in Lebanon pursuant to the provisions of the
ministerial statement by preparing a new
Parliamentary Electoral draft law in accordance
with the principles of the Constitution and the
Taef Agreement. The aim of such a draft law is
to achieve as much fair representation and
equality among candidates and voters as
possible, and to provide the necessary
conditions for free electoral competition and
for the impartiality of the administration of
the electoral process by the competent
authorities”.
Second: Work and meetings of the Commission
The Appointment Decision determined the
procedural tasks of the Commission as per the
following timetable:
-
The President of the Commission shall invite all
Lebanese political parties, movements, forces
and personalities to present to the Commission
their proposals and to appoint their
representatives, within one month- at the
latest- of the publication of the invitation in
the official gazette.
Indeed, the invitation was published- in three
languages- in local newspapers and in the
official gazette (Vol 34, p 4000) issued on
18/8/2005. Upon the expiry of the one-month
deadline on 19/9/2005, the Commission had
received 122 proposals varying between complete
draft laws and specific proposals for the
electoral system, the distribution of
constituencies, or other election-related
issues.
-
Within one month of receipt of (1) the proposals
submitted to it, (2) those that were already
submitted to the Ministry of Interior and
Municipalities and (3) the report of the
European Union on the last elections in Lebanon
referred to it by the Ministry of Foreign and
Emigrant Affairs, the Commission reviewed the
proposals and made them available to whomever
might be interested among political parties,
movements, forces and personalities. The
Commission listened separately to each of the
representatives of such bodies during special
hearings where representatives explained their
proposals and answered the Commissioners’
questions in this regard. The Commission
requested these representatives to fill in
questionnaires about certain parliamentary
election-related issues.
-
On November 26 and 27, 2005, the Commission
held, in its headquarters at the Grand Sérail,
plenary sessions for the representatives of the
political parties, movements and forces, run by
the Commission’s Chairman. The topics of these
sessions were the following:
·
The authority in charge of preparing for,
administering and supervising the electoral
process,
·
Election-related media regulations,
·
Regulation
and supervision of campaign finance,
·
Enhancement
of youth and women’s representation,
·
Out-of-country
voting,
·
Electoral
systems and districting.
-
During all this period, the Commission held
periodic plenary meetings (72 meetings in all)
in addition to sub-commission meetings (formed
by the Commission from among its members) to
tackle specific detailed issues.
-
In parallel, the Commission listened to Lebanese
and foreign election experts, benefiting from
technical support provided for this purpose by
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding
with the Lebanese government.
-
The Commission was granted a five-month deadline
under the Cabinet’s decision, to achieve its
mission. However, as the Commission needed more
time, the Council of Ministers decided, during
its session of 26/1/2006, to extend the
Commission’s deadline up to the end of February
2006, and then decided, in its session of
16/3/2006, to extend it again until the end of
May 2006. The Commission complied with this
deadline and submitted the present report to His
Excellency the Prime Minister.
The Commission ratified, during its first
meetings, its Rules of Procedure
that governed its procedural tasks, organized
its meetings and deliberations, and determined
the required quorum and majority to take
decisions. Furthermore, the said Rules provided
for an obligation of discretion on the part of
Commissioners in order to protect the
confidentiality of deliberations.
Third: General principles Adopted by the
Commission to Elaborate the Draft Law
(a)
Methodology:
The Commission examined the electoral systems
prevailing in many countries for comparative
purposes, keeping in mind that the electoral law
to be developed for Lebanon should respond to
the realities of the Lebanese socio-political
structure with all its characteristics and
complexities. From the beginning, it was clear
to the Commission how closely its work was
intertwined with the realities of Lebanese
society whether in terms of that society’s
political and historical heritage or as to its
citizens’ ambitions and future expectations. It
was also clear to what extent technical and
political issues were interlaced in most of the
aspects of the required reform.
(b)
Objectives:
The Taef agreement sets forth in Clause C,
Chapter 3, Title 1, the objectives that should
be achieved under the electoral law, as follows:
-
Safeguarding
of coexistence
-
Fair political representation of all groups and
generations
-
Effectiveness
of representation
-
Preservation of the unity of land, people and
institutions
Therefore, the Commission endeavored that its
draft law constitutes the best legal means to
achieve such objectives. It does not pretend
that the proposed law is the only one capable of
achieving the said objectives. But after
reviewing a large number of texts and draft laws
designed to achieve these objectives, it found
that its proposal comes closest to achieving the
desired objectives.
One cannot talk absolutely about an ideal
solution as to the objectives of the electoral
law in general, and particularly in Lebanon
where concepts and criteria, and even data and
figures, are often subjects of dispute and
political or confessional altercations.
(c)
Grounds:
The Commission opted for rules deriving from the
preamble and provisions of the Constitution, and
from political criteria of fundamental nature.
(1) Principles deriving from the preamble
and provisions of the Constitution
The Commission complied with the following
constitutional provisions:
Clause B of the Preamble reads:
“Lebanon is Arab in belonging and identity. It
is an active and founding member of the Arab
League and is committed to the league’s charter.
It is an active and founding member of the
United Nations Organization and is committed to
its charters and to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. The state of Lebanon shall embody
these principles in all rights and fields,
without exception”.
Clause C of the Preamble reads:
“Lebanon is a democratic parliamentary republic
founded on respect for public liberties,
especially the freedom of expression and belief,
on social justice, and on equality in rights and
duties among all citizens, without
discrimination or preference”.
Clause D of the Preamble reads:
“The people are the source of authority. They
are sovereign and shall exercise their
sovereignty through the constitutional
institutions”.
Clause I of the Preamble reads:
“No authority violating the coexistence charter
shall be legitimate”.
Article 7 of the Constitution reads:
“All the Lebanese are equal before the law. They
enjoy equal civil and political rights and are
equally subjected to public charges and duties,
without any distinction whatever”.
Article 21 of the Constitution reads:
“Any Lebanese citizen aged 21 who meets the
conditions of the electoral law is entitled to
vote”.
Article 24 of the Constitution reads:
“Parliament is composed of elected members;
their number and mode of election are determined
by the electoral laws in force.
Until Parliament draws up an electoral law
outside of the confessional registry,
parliamentary seats shall be distributed as
follows:
a-
in equality between Muslims and Christians
b-
proportionally among the confessional subgroups
c-
proportionally among the regions”
Article 27 of the Constitution reads:
“The Chamber member represents the entire
Nation. No imperative mandate may be given to
him by his electors”.
Article 29 of the Constitution reads:
“Cases of MP's incompetence are determined by
law”.
In addition, it was essential for the Commission
to also conform to criteria and rules set forth
in the landmark Decision of the Constitutional
Council no 4/96 dated 7/8/1996, that reads:
“Whereas these rules provided for in Article 24
of the Constitution lose their real meaning and
import in the event of non-adoption of a sole
criterion that is implemented equally in all
Lebanese regions, the Muhafazat would then be
the electoral constituency in all regions, or
the caza in all Muhafazats. Any other
delimitation of electoral constituencies would
be adopted if, at the legislator’s discretion,
such delimitation is to fulfill the provisions
of Article 24 of the Constitution, provided that
only one criterion governs the delimitation of
constituencies. Equality of constitutional
electoral rights among voters, and equality
among candidates as to the charges they would
incur pending the establishment of a ceiling for
electoral expenditure, would then be secured”.
By complying with these provisions and
constitutional principles, the Commission
guarantees, inter alia, the protection of the
future electoral law against the possibility of
annulment on the ground of unconstitutionality
of provisions.
(2) Fundamental Political Criteria
In addition to the Commission’s compliance with
the objectives set forth in the Taef agreement
and with the aforementioned constitutional
provisions, the Commission adopted the following
fundamental political criteria:
a- To move away from formulae that might lead to
a permanent consolidation of sectarianism. The
Commission considered the confessional issue on
the basis of Clause 2 of Article 24 and Article
95 of the Constitution, in such a way that its
draft law would not be an obstacle to the
achievement of the objective of gradually
abolishing political sectarianism. The
Commission paid particular attention to the
establishment of an “electoral law outside of
the confessional registry”, and to the
“creation, at the same time, of a senate where
all religious communities shall be represented”
according to Article 22 of the Constitution
after the formation of “the national council in
charge of examining and proposing the means
capable of abolishing sectarianism”.
b- To seek to give the draft law a constructive
dynamism that would make, with time, the
national discourse prevail over the religious or
sectarian one, and encourage the Lebanese,
voters and candidates, to get involved in
political life from a national perspective.
Accordingly, they will be able to exercise their
democratic rights under the electoral law
through lists of candidates from different
religious and sectarian communities, competing
rather on the basis of political, economical,
and social programs instead of family, regional,
sectarian, or religious belongings.
c- To protect any Lebanese community from the
danger of being dominated by another one; which
might deprive any of the communities of
participating in public life, based on the fact
that the coexistence charter should imply the
participation of all Lebanese in political
decision-making.
Fourth: Chapters of the draft law
The draft law is made up of the following nine
chapters:
Chapter 1:
Eligibility of voters and candidates
Chapter 2:
Independent Electoral Commission
Chapter 3:
Electoral constituencies, voting system and
number of deputies
First: Number of deputies
Second: Electoral constituencies
Third: Voting system
Chapter 4:
Pre-Election tasks
First: Voter rolls
Second: Calling of elections
Third: Candidacy filing
Chapter 5:
Regulation of electoral competition
First: Campaign Spending
Second: Campaign Advertising
Chapter 6:
Voting process
First: Voting of Lebanese residents
Second: Out-of-country voting
Chapter 7:
Counting of votes and announcement of results
Chapter 8:
Incompatibility between parliamentary membership
and other offices
Chapter 9:
Miscellaneous provisions
The provisions of the said chapters bring the
following new features:
Chapter 1: Eligibility of voters and candidates
First: To bring every citizen’s right to vote or
to run as candidate to the same level of
fundamental rights with constitutional force, in
order to make the legislator abide by these two
rights at the risk of challenging
constitutionality.
The draft law has consolidated these two rights
under a number of provisions which, gathered all
together, formed a charter called by the
Commission “Charter of voters and candidates’
rights”. The Commission suggested including it
in the Constitution instead of Article 23
abrogated since 1927, as follows:
“a- Each Lebanese shall be entitled to periodic,
free, proper and fair elections.
b- Democratic accountability shall be the
voter’s right and obligation.
c- Elections shall be held by secret ballot,
with the guarantee that the participation of
voters in the electoral process will be
facilitated.
d- Elections shall be held by virtue of a law
guaranteeing equality among voters and
candidates, and under the umbrella of a
government of non-candidates.
e- The electoral law shall be ratified by
absolute majority of all members legally
constituting the Chamber of Deputies. The
electoral law shall not be amended within the
year preceding the expiry of Parliament’s
mandate.
f- Each Lebanese shall be entitled to run as
candidate, provided he/she meets the conditions
set forth in the electoral law.
g- On an exceptional and provisional basis,
each list shall include a minimum number of
women candidates. Their number and candidacy
filing process, along with the deadline of such
exception effectiveness, shall be determined
under the electoral law”.
The inclusion of the said charter in the
Constitution requires a constitutional
amendment. The Commission was therefore driven
to elaborate a constitutional draft law along
with its rationale (Hereto attached as Exhibit
4).
Second: To enable non-resident Lebanese to vote.
The Commission considered that acknowledging the
right to vote of non-resident Lebanese was no
more than consolidation of a prevailing
constitutional right that should be implemented
regardless of any technical issues whatsoever.
The out-of-country voting is restricted, within
the limits of the electoral law, to citizens who
are still holding their Lebanese nationality and
who fulfill the voter’s conditions, as their
names appear on the voter rolls regardless of
their place of residence. Accordingly, the
debate over people of Lebanese origin and
immigrants who no longer hold citizenship for
different reasons remains outside the scope of
the Commission’s mission.
The Commission included in the draft law
provisions that would enable the Lebanese living
abroad but meeting the voter’s conditions, to
vote from his/her place of residence for the
candidates of his/her electoral constituency as
per his/her place of record. This is in line
with the practice of more than 88 United Nations
member states.
Third: To lower the voting age from 21 to 18.
This has long been in Lebanon a demand of youth
groups and most of civil society organizations.
The Commission decided on the lowering of the
voting age from 21 to 18, as 18 is considered to
be the age of legal maturity in Lebanon.
Furthermore, most democracies in the world
currently award the right to vote to those who
reach this age, knowing that some of these
countries, as is the case in Great Britain, are
even debating whether to lower it to 16. Whereas
such an issue requires a constitutional
amendment, the Commission included the said
amendment in the above-mentioned constitutional
draft law.
It is to be noted, in this context, that the
Commission considered also the lowering of
candidacy age from 25 to 23 or 21, but decided
to retain the currently adopted age.
Fourth: To reserve a quota for women at
candidacy level; each list must include a
minimum set number of women candidates.
The rationale for this obligation is that, on
the one hand, women have not yet had a fair
chance to participate fully in the political
life of the country for many reasons, mainly
social and cultural ones, despite the
recognition of their right to vote and run for
office since more than 50 years. As a result,
Lebanon is ranked 125th out of 136 on
the women’s parliamentary representation list in
the world. On the other hand, such a quota will
comply with the Convention on the Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination against Women to
which Lebanon adhered under Law no 572 dated
24/7/1996 and under the 1995 Peking agreement
approved by Lebanon and recommending that
women’s representation be 30% minimum by 2005.
The Commission believes that the quota system is
a positive discrimination aiming at
counterbalancing the existing imbalance in
society. It decided, therefore, to opt for this
system, on an interim basis, for three
successive elections, with a 30% quota at
candidacy level, i.e. on the electoral lists
within the constituencies subject to the
proportional system. Quota at candidacy level
would be much more in harmony with the voter’s
freedom than a quota imposed on seats, and would
not be an additional burden to the electoral
system already loaded with quotas for religious
communities and regions. In the proposed mixed
system, the quota system cannot be imposed on
the seats elected by majoritarian vote, but only
on the seats elected according to the
proportional system with closed lists.
However, the adoption of women’s quota, even
though at candidacy level, might constitute a
breach of the principle of equality among all
citizens. The Commission established, therefore,
a constitutional text authorizing the quota
temporarily. The Constitution should then be
amended in accordance with the constitutional
draft law attached hereto.
In compliance with the Taef agreement which
stipulates that “all factions of the people”
must be represented, the Commission made a
recommendation that the “National Council”
entrusted, under Article 95 of the Constitution,
with the task of “examining and proposing the
means capable of abolishing sectarianism”,
consider, after its formation, the
representation of Lebanese who do not wish to
belong to a particular religious community.
Chapter 2: Independent Electoral Commission
In order to implement well the principle of
neutrality and fairness of elections and to move
the electoral process away from political
authority influence, it was agreed to establish
a “National Independent Commission”. It shall be
an administrative body that shall be given
judicial status. It shall enjoy administrative
and financial autonomy and be in charge of
preparing for, administering, and supervising
parliamentary elections. In addition, it shall
work for the development of democratic culture
and for the promotion of electoral awareness. It
is worth mentioning, in this context, that most
proposals submitted to the Commission stressed
the need for an independent body to administer
and supervise the elections, which is in line
with the increasing tendency of all democracies
around the world.
It is to be noted that this proposal goes along
with the proposal for setting up a government of
non-candidates during the parliamentary election
period in order to promote the principle of
neutrality.
(a) The proposed commission shall be made
up of ten members as follows:
-
A presiding judge of the Court of Cassation,
selected from a list of three presiding judges
appointed by the Higher Judicial Council (as
President)
-
A
presiding judge from the Council of State,
selected from a list of presiding judges
appointed by the Council of State bureau (as
Vice-president)
-
A presiding judge from the National Audit
Office, selected from a list of three presiding
judges appointed by the National Audit Office
(as member)
-
Former head of the Beirut Bar Association,
selected from a list of three former heads of
the Beirut Bar Association appointed by the
Beirut Bar Association board (as member)
-
Former head of the Tripoli Bar Association,
selected from a list of three former heads of
the Tripoli Bar Association appointed by the
Tripoli Bar Association board (as member)
-
Member of the National Media Council, selected
from a list of three names appointed by the
National Media Council (as member)
-
Member of the Press Syndicate, selected from a
list of three names appointed by the Press
Syndicate (as member)
-
Three PhD-holding experts with expertise in
election-related matters such as political
science, administrative affairs, social
sciences, statistics, or demography.
(b) The President, vice president and
members of the commission shall be appointed by
virtue of a decree issued upon the approval of
the Council of Ministers and initiated by the
Prime Minister.
(c) The commission shall be in charge of
all parliamentary election-related issues,
namely:
-
Supervise the good preparation and rectification
of voter rolls.
-
Appoint the members of registration and counting
committees, and supervise their work.
-
Determine the polling station places and appoint
the heads of such polling stations and their
assistants.
-
Receive and decide on the requests for
candidates’ registration in accordance with the
prevailing rules and regulations.
-
Monitor electoral finances.
-
Monitor the compliance of lists, candidates, and
media with rules and regulations governing
electoral advertising.
-
Supervise the administration of the electoral
process in accordance with rules and regulations
thereof; receive and decide on the complaints
thereabout.
-
Supervise the vote counting and tallying
process, and announce results.
In order to enhance the role of this commission,
it was given the power to impose penalties on
defaulting parties. The principles of Inter
Partes process and of “two-stage litigation”
should be respected in this regard.
In addition, civil society agencies were given
the right to monitor the elections under
specific terms.
Chapter 3: Electoral constituencies, voting
system and number of deputies
The issues of electoral constituencies and
voting systems were considered and debated over
many meetings held by the Commission and
sub-commissions. It is to be noted, in this
context, that the Commission’s discussions were
fully transparent, as all issues were raised
clearly and candidly.
After much prolonged debate over the different
models of the voting system and electoral
constituencies that could be adopted, the
Commission unanimously settled on considering
that the mixed system - which takes into
consideration at once two levels of electoral
constituencies and combines the majoritarian
system at one level with the proportional system
at another - is the best of the possible options
in the current Lebanese situation in order to
achieve the expected objectives of the new
electoral law as per the Taef agreement (i.e. as
aforementioned: Guarantee of coexistence, fair
political representation of all people’s
factions and generations, efficacy of
representation, preservation of the unity of
soil, people and institutions).
The Commission considered that this choice
constituted an advanced step towards
implementing Clause C/Chapter 3/Title I of the
Taef agreement stipulating that “Parliamentary
elections shall be held in accordance with a new
law on the basis of provinces (Muhfazat)”. This
shall be done after “reviewing [by the competent
authorities] the administrative division within
the context of unity of the people, the soil and
the institutions”; which has not been achieved
yet.
It is to be noted, in this context, that each of
the majoritarian and proportional systems has
many advantages. This is also the case of large
and small constituencies. Accordingly, the mixed
systems - an amalgam of these elements - were
called by contemporary political science experts
such as Matthew Shugart and Martin Wattenberg
“The best of both worlds”.
The mixed system combining both the small
constituency majoritarian model and the large
constituency proportional model
In the mixed system, some parliamentary seats
are elected on a majoritarian basis with small
constituencies (cadas or electoral units) and
the remainder on a proportional basis with large
constituencies (i.e. six constituencies composed
of the five historical constituencies after the
division of Mount Lebanon constituency into two
constituencies given its exceptional size
compared to the other constituencies).
Such elections shall be held on one day in order
to guarantee the proper representation of the
Lebanese people, reflecting, at one and the same
time, their different regions and confessions
along with their political choices separate from
confessional or geographical considerations.
This shall be done pursuant to the provisions
below.
Electoral constituencies
There are two types of electoral constituencies:
large constituencies (such as Muhafazat)
including small ones (cadas, or electoral
units). They are as follows:
The constituency of Beirut subject to the
proportional system, and including the following
electoral units themselves subject to the
majoritarian system:
First area of Beirut composed of Ashrafieh,
Saifi, Rmeil and Mudawar.
Second area of Beirut composed of Mazraa,
Mousaytbi and Bashoura.
Third area of Beirut composed of Ras Beirut, Dar
al Mreissy, Mina al Hosn, Zkak al Blat and the
Port.
The constituency of the Bekaa subject to the
proportional system and including the following
cadas and electoral units themselves subject to
the majoritarian system:
Zahle, western Bekaa/Rashaya and Baalbek/Hermel
The constituency of the North subject to the
proportional system and including the following
cadas and electoral units themselves subject to
the majoritarian system:
Tripoli, Akkar*,
Dinniye/Minye, Becharre, Zghorta, Koura and
Batroun
The constituency of the South subject to the
proportional system and including the following
cadas and electoral units themselves subject to
the majoritarian system:
Saida, Zahrani, Jezzine, Tyr, Nabatiye, Bint
Jbeil, Marjeyoun and Hasbaya.
The constituency of northern Mount Lebanon
subject to the proportional system and including
the following cadas themselves subject to the
majoritarian system:
Metn, Kesrwan and Byblos.
The constituency of southern Mount Lebanon
subject to the proportional system and including
the following cadas themselves subject to the
majoritarian system:
Chouf, Aley and Baabda.
The number of seats allocated to each
constituency and to sectarian communities within
it, is determined according to the attached
table (Exhibit 8).
The 128 parliamentary seats were distributed
between cadas and electoral units subject to the
majoritarian system, and large constituencies
subject to the proportional system, according to
the following objective criteria:
1- The seats are divided equally between the
small constituency (with majoritarian system)
and the large constituency (with proportional
system) when the number of seats for a given
confession in the cada (or electoral unit) is
even. (e.g. Maronite seats in Batroun or Jezzine,
Shiite seats in Baalbeck/Hermel, or Sunni seats
in Saida).
2- More seats are given to the small
constituency (with majoritarian system) than the
large constituency (with proportional system)
when the number of seats for a given confession
in the cada (or electoral unit) is odd. (e.g.
Sunni seats in Tripoli, Greek orthodox seats in
Koura, Maronite seats in Keserwan and Zghorta,
or Shiite seats in Nabatiye).
3- In the event of there being only one seat for
a given confession in a cada (or electoral
unit), it shall remain in the small constituency
(with majoritarian system), provided that the
number of voters of this confession within this
constituency is not less than half of the
electoral quotient (electoral quotient defined
as the aggregate number of voters registered in
the constituency divided by the number of seats
related to this constituency).
(e.g. the Greek orthodox seat in Tripoli shall
go to the small constituency [with majoritarian
system], while the Maronite seat shall go to the
large constituency [with proportional system].
Furthermore, the seats of the Greek Catholic and
the Minorities in Beirut shall go to the small
constituency [with majoritarian system], while
both seats of Druze and Protestants shall go to
the large constituency [with proportional
system]).
4- In the event of two seats reserved for a
given confession in a large constituency (with
proportional system) but for two different
cadas (or electoral units), the seat with the
highest ratio of voters of that confessional
group to the aggregate number of voters in the
cada shall go to the small constituency (with
majoritarian system).
(this rule applies, for example, to the two
Alawi seats in the North, the two Catholic seats
in the South, or two Greek orthodox and two
Shiite seats in Beirut).
Candidacy
Candidates running for office in the
constituencies subject to the proportional
system must nevertheless specify which seat (cada
and confession) they are running for, according
to the relevant confessional distribution of
seats. Candidacy in these constituencies shall
be made on the basis of lists.
Candidates running for office in the
constituencies subject to the majoritarian
system must also do so according to the relevant
confessional distribution of seats. Candidacy in
these constituencies shall be made on an
individual basis.
The candidate must choose to run for election
between the constituency subject to the
proportional system or the constituency subject
to the majoritarian system; he/she shall not be
entitled to run for both at the same time.
Lists
Formation of lists in Proportional
Representation constituencies must respect the
distribution of seats within the cadas (or
electoral units) according to the relevant
confessional distribution.
Lists must be closed and must have a name. They
may be complete or incomplete, provided they
include no less than four members. In the event
the deadline for lists registration expires and
a particular seat has no candidate in any of the
lists, then, each of the candidates running for
this seat and not belonging to any list shall be
deemed a list and allowed to compete for the
seat.
Each list shall include a minimum 30% quota of
women. Fractions amounting to or exceeding one
half shall be rounded upwards.
Voting system
Each voter shall be entitled to vote:
1- in the constituency subject to the
majoritarian system which he/she belongs to, for
a number of candidates equal to the number of
seats allotted to this constituency according to
the relevant confessional distribution.
2- in the constituency subject to the
proportional system which he/she belongs to, for
only one of the competing lists.
In order to rank the candidates on the list of
his/her choice, the voter shall be entitled to
two preferential votes for two different cadas
(or electoral units) awarded to two candidates
from this list. The Commission opted for
“preferential voting” as it secures greater
freedom to the voter while choosing his/her
candidates. Consequently, the voter would not be
restricted to pre-ranked lists where pre-ranked
candidates are imposed by dominant list heads
and parties.
Voting shall take place in the same polling
station by means of two envelopes; the first
reserved for the constituency subject to the
majoritarian system and cast in the ballot box
relevant to this constituency, the second
reserved for the constituency subject to the
proportional system and cast in another ballot
box relevant to this constituency.
Counting system
1- For constituencies with proportional system:
Votes obtained by each list are counted
regardless of preferential votes going to the
candidates of this list, in order to determine
the number of seats for each list. Preferential
votes are counted for each candidate in order to
determine his/her rank on the list according to
voters’ preferences.
2- For constituencies with majoritarian system:
Votes obtained by each candidate are counted in
order to determine the winning candidates.
Determination of lists results
Each list gets a number of seats proportional to
the total number of votes it received,
calculated as follows: the number of votes
within each PR constituency shall be divided by
the number of seats within the same constituency
in order to determine the electoral quotient.
Then, the number of votes received by the list
shall be divided by the said electoral quotient
in order to determine the number of seats this
list should get. In case of a vacant seat, it
shall go to the list with the highest remainder.
e.g. If, in a given constituency, the number of
votes is 100,000 and the number of seats is 10,
the electoral quotient will then be 100,000/10 =
10,000. Supposing that the number of votes
received by each of three competing lists in
this same constituency is 50,000, 30,000 and
20,000 respectively. The number of seats awarded
to each of the lists shall then be:
50,000/10,000= 5 seats for the first list;
30,000/10,000= 3 seats for the second; and
20,000/10,000= 2 seats for the third.
Usually, the number of list votes divided by the
electoral quotient is not a whole number. As a
result, some seats will remain undistributed.
According to the “highest remainders method”,
the undistributed seats shall go to the lists
with the highest remainder in decreasing order
of magnitude.
e.g. let’s consider the same above-mentioned
example but with 47614, 32215, and 21171 votes
for the first, second and third lists
respectively. The first list would initially get
4 seats with a remainder of 8614 votes, the
second three seats with a remainder of 2215
votes, and the third two seats with a remainder
of 1171 votes. Consequently, one seat will
remain undistributed. This seat will go to the
first list since it has got the highest
remainder of votes. If there had been two seats
remaining, the second seat would go to the
second list because it has the second highest
remainder, and so on.
In case there are still undistributed seats left
over after the distribution of seats by
remainder, they remaining seats shall go to the
qualified lists starting from the strongest list
to the weakest. The Commission considers that
each list that does not obtain a number of votes
equal to the electoral quotient within its
constituency, is to be deemed as “unqualified”
and deserves no seat.
As for the number of deputies, it is determined
according to the mixed system, as follows:
-
77 deputies elected according to the
majoritarian system within the relevant
constituencies;
-
51 deputies elected according to the
proportional system within the relevant
constituencies.
Determination of winning candidates
1- Within PR constituencies
Candidates would be declared winners, starting
with the candidate with the highest number of
preferential votes no matter what list he/she
belongs to, then the candidate with the second
highest number of preferential votes, and so on,
until candidates of qualified lists fill all the
lists’ deserved number of seats within the
constituency. The candidate whose turn is to be
considered but meets one of the following
conditions shall be eliminated and replaced with
the candidate who comes directly after him/her
in terms of number of preferential votes.
-
He/she is a candidate for seat(s) of a
confessional community within a given cada/electoral
unit that has/have already been filled;
-
He/she is a candidate from a list that has
already taken its deserved share of seats.
2- Within majority vote constituencies
Candidates with the highest number of votes for
each seat shall be declared elected.
Potential criticism of this system
Some might think, at first sight, that such a
system would lead to the establishment of two
categories or classes of deputies. The
Commission sees therefore that it is important
to clarify the following points:
a- The big difference between votes obtained by
proportional vote and those obtained by majority
vote shall not constitute a discriminatory
factor among elected deputies. In fact,
candidates within PR constituencies win thanks
to votes obtained by their list as a whole and
not owing to votes obtained on an individual
basis, as is the case in Majority vote
constituencies.
b- Different countries that adopted similar
systems such as Germany, Japan, Italy, Mexico,
Korea, Senegal and New Zealand, do not suffer
from “two classes” of deputies.
In fact, the number of these countries is
increasing, as the Mixed System has been adopted
by many new democracies in East Europe and
Central Asia (such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Albania, and Hungary) and in nascent states
(such as the Palestinian National Authority).
It is worth mentioning, in this context, that
the commission in charge of reforming the French
electoral system and made up of a group of
jurists and representatives of all blocs and
headed by the noted jurist Vedel in 1992,
recommended in its report dated 3/2/1993 that a
mixed system be adopted by virtue of which a
number of parliamentary seats are to be elected
by proportional vote within a single national
constituency in addition to all MPs elected in
smaller constituencies by majority two-round
ballot.
More importantly, given the firmly established
simple majority system in Britain, it is to be
noted that the report of the independent
commission on electoral systems known as the
Jenkins Report and submitted to the British
Parliament in November 1998, also recommended
that, in order to remedy the “continuous
disorder” besetting the simple majority system
based on single-member constituencies, a mixed
system be adopted. It proposed to elect 15-20%
of the deputies (as top-up seats) on the basis
of large provinces according to one of the PR
methods, namely the Alternative Vote method.
c- All deputies, whether elected within small or
larger constituencies, are equal in rights and
obligations before the law and the constitution.
In all cases, irrespective of their election
mode (majoritarian or proportional) and of the
constituency size (small or large), the “Chamber
member represents the entire Nation. No
imperative mandate may be given to him by his
electors” as per article 27 of the Constitution.
After much debate over this issue, the report of
the above-mentioned French commission headed by
Vedel read verbatim as follows (page 46):
« La coexistence de députés élus selon des
modalités différentes ne paraît pas soulever
d’obstacle constitutionnel, dès lors qu’est
respecté le principe d’égalité tant entre les
électeurs que les élus: la voix de chaque
électeur pèse d’un même poids dans chacun des
deux scrutins; les députés disposent d’un statut
et de prérogatives identiques, quel
que soit leur mode d’élection ».
“The coexistence of deputies elected by means of
different models does not seem to give rise to
any constitutional obstacle as long as the
Principle of Equality is respected among voters
and elected candidates: the vote of each voter
has the same power in each of the electoral
systems; as for deputies, they enjoy the same
status and prerogatives, whatever the mode of
election”.
Chapter 4: Pre-election tasks
The proposed draft law implies, in general, a
big amount of updating of the electoral process
and practices in order to contribute to
providing the best circumstances for the voter
to vote.
-
The authority for the preparation of electoral
rolls is now vested in the Independent Electoral
Commission.
-
An office called “Office of voter’s registers”
is created within the Directorate General of
Civil Status. It shall be in charge of updating
(inclusion of new data, modification, deletion,
rectification) of electoral rolls on a periodic
basis under the supervision of the Independent
Electoral Commission.
-
Publication of electoral rolls on the
Independent Commission website along with the
release of CD-ROMs with these lists, in order to
make them easily accessible to voters and
candidates.
-
Each voter shall be entitled to ask the
competent registration committee to move his/her
voting place to his/her place of residence,
provided he/she shows evidence of his/her place
of residence via a certificate from the Mukhtar
(selectman). It is to be noted, however, that
this voter still votes in favor of candidates of
the constituency where he/she was originally
registered.
-
The Lebanese Consul abroad is entrusted with the
same powers granted to the Muhafez (governor of
a Muhafazat), Caimaqam (administrative head of
the cada), and Mukhtar (selectman) pertaining to
the electoral rolls, in application of
out-of-country voting.
The Commission also suggested that elections be
compulsorily run on one day in all
constituencies.
Chapter 5: Regulation of electoral competition
(a) Campaign spending
The draft law included important and new
restrictions on electoral expenditure in order
to secure fair competition and equality among
candidates by limiting the power of money and
its detrimental consequences on the voting
process and on voters’ freedom.
For this purpose, the draft law specifies in
detail what would be considered electoral
expenses and distinguishes between legitimate
expenses subject from now on to a specific
ceiling that cannot be exceeded by the
candidate/list during the electoral campaign
period, and illegitimate expenses that are
forbidden and deemed as a bribe punishable by
the current criminal law.
The draft law also regulates funding sources by
forbidding some of them and establishing a
ceiling and limits for the remaining ones in
order to secure funding soundness and
transparency.
In order to secure the implementation and
efficiency of these regulations, the draft law
makes it compulsory for each candidate/list to
open a special bank account called “Electoral
campaign account”. All contributions and
expenses should be exclusively made through this
account which is not protected by banking
secrecy law. In addition, the draft law requires
each candidate/list to appoint one financial
officer exclusively in charge of managing and
operating the said account, and an auditor to
review campaign finances.
The draft law instituted controls over electoral
funding and expenditure vested in the
Independent Electoral Commission.
Candidates/lists must submit to it periodic
notes of expenses, contributions, and
obligations related to the electoral campaign,
as well as a comprehensive detailed account
statement lodged after the end of elections with
the totals of income and settled or due expenses
for the electoral campaign. The said statement
should be accompanied by all supporting
documents. The Independent Commission shall be
responsible, according to the draft law, for
auditing the electoral campaign accounts so that
it ratifies, revokes or amends them.
In case the provisions of electoral finances are
breached, various penalties are to be applied,
ranging between criminal penalties such as
imprisonment and/or fines, electoral penalties
such as the announcement of the defaulting
candidate’s ineligibility for one year and the
possibility of pronouncing the candidate’s
invalidity by the Constitutional Council in case
the said candidate’s election has been
challenged before it, and finally financial
penalties such as payment of a fine amounting to
three times the amount exceeding the campaign
expenditure ceiling, and that payment should go
to the Treasury.
(b) Campaign advertising
The draft law regulates electoral audio-visual
media advertising and distinguishes for this
purpose between electoral advertisements and
electoral information.
In terms of electoral advertisement, the draft
law authorizes paid ads in the audio-visual
media. The Independent Electoral Commission
shall regulate it and determine advertising
spaces. It shall also adhere to the principles
of equity and respect candidates’ right to equal
media access.
As for electoral information, the draft law
entitles candidates/lists to use the public
audio-visual media for free in order to present
their electoral programs. The Independent
Electoral Commission shall be in charge of
determining the air time schedule and
distributing these amounts of free air time to
all candidates/lists on an equitable and fair
basis in respect of the rule of Equal
Opportunities. The draft law also provides for
impartiality of public media during all stages
of the electoral process.
The draft law also includes many provisions for
advertising regulation of private audio-visual
media, securing the freedom of expression for
all trends of thought and opinion in the
programs of the said media. The Independent
Commission shall have the power to give binding
directives and instructions that it deems
necessary in this regard, in order to secure
justice and balance between the candidate and
his/her competitors, and impartiality towards
candidates/lists.
In order to prevent any attempt of evasion or
creation of confusion in this respect, the draft
law expressly stipulates that the concerned
programs include all political and public
information programs, including the news,
discussions, interviews, talk shows, etc.
It forbids any information medium to support any
candidate/list and binds it to distinguish in
all its programs between facts and realities on
one hand and opinions and comments on the other
hand.
In addition, the draft law specifies some
criteria and rules to follow, such as refraining
from any act of defamation, triggering of
religious/confessional sensitivities, misleading
information, and broadcasting of electoral ads
under the guise of information.
Use of public places and houses of worship for
electoral advertising purposes is prohibited.
Furthermore, the draft law regulates the
handling of posters and opinion polls.
Electoral advertising is to be suspended on
polling day and the two days immediately
preceding it: distribution of ballot papers,
flyers, or any other documents in favor of a
list or a candidate near or outside polling
stations on polling day is prohibited. The draft
law prohibits any electoral advertisement and
interviews with any candidate as of the 24 hours
preceding polling day, and also prohibits the
publication or broadcasting of opinion polls
within the week before polling day.
In general, the Independent Electoral Commission
shall have the authority to monitor the
adherence of audio-visual media to the electoral
advertising provisions, and to impose on the
defaulting mass media sanctions such as
warnings, giving the wronged candidate the Right
to an Answer, financial fines, partial closure
for three days maximum or total closure until
the closing of ballot boxes on polling day.
In order to guarantee the right of defense, the
draft law stipulates that the commission’s
decisions may be appealed to the Court of
Cassation within five days of their
pronouncement.
Chapter 6: Voting process
(1) Voting of resident citizens
-
The commission determines the polling centers,
including centers designed for the voters who
choose to vote outside their place of record.
-
The commission organizes, within each electoral
constituency, on the Friday immediately
preceding polling day, a voting process for the
civil servants in charge of running the polling
stations.
-
Voting is done by means of official ballot
papers produced by the commission for each
electoral constituency and exclusively available
in the polling station. Voters are bound to use
these papers and no other ones.
-
Voting is confirmed by the voter’s signature on
the voter rolls and by inking his thumb with a
special indelible ink provided by the commission
for all polling stations. The said ink should
last 24 hours at least in order to prevent the
inked voter from voting again.
-
The commission should take into consideration
the needs of disabled persons while organizing
the election process and facilitate all measures
allowing them to exercise their right to vote
with no obstacles. It should also put in place a
relevant exhaustive implementation code after
consulting with Disabled Persons organizations
and Service Providing organizations set forth in
the Law on Rights of Disabled Persons no. 220
dated 29/5/2000.
(2) Voting of non-resident citizens
-
Each Lebanese embassy or consulate abroad or any
other center appointed by the commission in
coordination with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Emigrants shall be deemed as polling
station.
-
Every non-resident Lebanese citizen wishing to
exercise his/her right to vote may register with
the accredited Lebanese consulate in his/her
country of residence.
Chapter 7: Counting of votes and announcement of
results
-
Primary counting of votes shall not take place
in the polling stations as previously, but in
front of the competent registration committee
that receives all ballot boxes and polling
stations records falling within its competence.
-
Votes are counted with a scanning machine
connected to a programmed computer and to a wide
screen where results are displayed, in addition
to any other devices ensuring a sound automation
of the electoral process.
X X X
The numerous amendments to the successive
electoral laws since the establishment of the
Republic of Lebanon, mainly tackled the size of
electoral constituencies and the number of seats
in each one of them, within the scope of the
majoritarian system itself. The Commission would
like, however, to stress the major
characteristics of proportional representation
to be included- at least partially- in the new
electoral law. These characteristics are as
follows:
- In general, the proportional system provides
more accurate representation, as it allows sound
representation of the public opinion tendencies,
whatever their social movements and interests.
It is fairer than other electoral systems
because it does not allow any of the political
minorities to become marginalized, but
represents it proportionally to its size as
reflected by the ballot boxes. As a result,
political stability in the country would be
enhanced.
- It contributes to modernizing and
rationalizing political life as it reduces
personalized political choices through
competition of lists that are supposedly formed
on the basis of different programs.
- It promotes the involvement in public life
through parliamentary elections because it
guarantees that all votes will be represented no
matter what list voters had voted for.
- It encourages the establishment of fronts and
coalitions based on political programs, and
promotes party development. Furthermore, it
enables new political elites and growing social
forces to enter into Parliament. PR proposals
are often dismissed for the reason that there
are no developed parties in Lebanon. However,
the relationship between PR and parties is not
one-way; it is all about a reciprocal
connection: as developed parties usually push
towards PR, PR can similarly lead to the
establishment of well-organized political
parties and fronts and to the promotion of
public life relying on such groupings, as
demonstrated by renowned expert Maurice Duverger
about 50 years ago.
X X X
Finally, during its work, the Commission
experienced how delicate and controversial the
election-related matters were. It tried to
approach the issue of electoral reform in
Lebanon based on the importance given by
Lebanese citizens to an electoral system that
would produce a situation where everybody would
be truly represented, and that would express how
rich and diversified Lebanon is, while
preserving its unity.
After nine months of team work, the Commission
would like to thank his Excellency the Prime
Minister for his confidence, hoping that its
output contributes to a better future based on a
democracy sought by free people and on a freedom
protected by democratic citizens, under the
umbrella of law and human rights.
President:
Fouad Boutros
Members:
Nawaf Salam (Secretary) Ghaleb
Mahmassany Michel Tabet
Zouheir Shokr
Ghassan Abou Alwan Ziyad Baroud
Abdel Salam Sheaib Fayez
Al-Hajj Shahine Paul Salem
Khaldun Naja Arda
Ekmekji
- Annexes mentioned in Exhibit 9 are attached to
the present report.
List of Attached Annexes
-
Proposals submitted to the Commission for
the amendment of parliamentary electoral law
(Vol. 1-4)
-
Detailed summary of the proposals submitted
to the National Commission (Vol. 5)
-
Proposals referred by the Ministry of
Interior (Vol. 6-8)
-
Out-of-country Voting (Vol. 9)
-
Voting Process and the Lowering of Voting
and Candidacy Ages (Vol. 10)
-
Enhancing Women’s Representation (Vol. 11)
-
Independent Electoral Commission (Vol.
12-13)
-
Mixed Electoral Systems (Vol. 14)
-
Regulation and Supervision of Electoral
Expenditure (Vol. 15)
-
Electoral Media Regulation (Vol. 16-17)
-
Electronic Voting (Vol. 18)
-
Electoral Laws since 1920 (Vol. 19)
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