Lebanon 2022 Elections: Big wins for reformers, bigger challenges for the country
Independent Lebanese Politician Firas Hamdan. Photo: Oliver Marsden
For the first time in 17 years, a set of Lebanese elections, held on 15 May, resulted in a hung parliament to the surprise of many observers.
Hezbollah and their allied bloc lost over a dozen seats; the Future movement largely withdrew from the process; the Maronite Free Patriotic Movement and their allies took a step back.
Lebanon differs from most legislatures around the world due to its unique and complicated confessional power sharing system, making absolute majorities rare. Still, the absence of any dominating force in this new parliament was unexpected.
The makeup of the new parliament only further complicates the political situation in a country reeling under its worst ever financial and economic crisis.
Lebanese Politician Paula Yaacoubian. Photo: Oliver Marsden
Reformers advance
The biggest development in these elections was seeing 13 independents from non-sectarian and non-traditional parties win.
In 2018, only Beirut’s Paula Yaacoubian managed to penetrate the establishment, run by an elite of warlords, billionaires and politicians accused of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption over the years.
Candidates from the north, Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the Beqaa, and the south Lebanon all managed to become lawmakers.
Beating voter fraud
Some candidates feared possible voter fraud and recounting in the last hours might bar them from their seats. In some cases, it took at least two-to-three days to confirm the results in many districts.
One example was Firas Hamdan took south Lebanon’s Hasbaya seat from banker Marwan Kheireddine, who was backed by a number of sectarian establishment parties.
Hamdan has vowed to bring justice to people injured during anti-government protests, including himself, at the hands of security forces and parliament security, affiliated with Amal Movement leader and Speaker Nabih Berri. The Movement is often referred to as “the parliament militia”.
While some expected a much bigger bloc of independent MPs to reach the legislature, it was nevertheless seen as a major victory in the face of the ruling elite which had for months, prior to the elections, doubted that their opponents from civil society groups and secular parties would win more than 10 seats.
Mainstream stunned
The mainstream media - most of which is affiliated to ruling parties - as well as statistics companies and analysts played down any victory.
It’s hard to expect any deep rooted change with this current bloc of independents, as the divisions and challenges remain the same in light of geopolitical developments.
The least that people expect is to have a voice in parliament, be a disruptive force, and an obstacle in the face of legislation that suits the elite.