Political system of Lebanon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic .

The political system of Lebanon is shaped by religious proportionality and the resulting influence of religions. The Lebanon is therefore a parity state . The country is referred to as a concordance democracy because of its denominationalism and the attempt to allow all sections of the population to participate in political life . Nevertheless, the current political situation in Lebanon is considered unstable. For years there was a power struggle between Christian parties and Muslims, which reached its climax in the civil war from 1975 to 1990 . Since then, denominational parity has been regulated more evenly.

Political development

After the First World War , Lebanon stood under a French League of Nations mandate as the État de Grand Liban . When Lebanon became independent from France in 1943 , the National Pact agreed on the distribution of seats for the religious groups in Parliament in a ratio of six ( Christians ) to five ( Muslims ), with Christians having 52% according to the 1932 census Majority of the population in the country. However, since the Muslims had a much higher birth rate than Christians and at the same time numerous Christians emigrated from the country, the proportion of the population of Christians decreased over time.

Eventually the fact became clear that Christians were disproportionately represented in politics. This was one of the causes of the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1989. Right - wing Christians (such as the supporters of the Kata'ib and the Forces Lebanaises ) fought against Islamist Muslims (such as the Hezbollah fighters and the Amal militia ) and left-wing Christians (such as the fighters for the Progressive Socialist Party ). Syria intervened in Lebanon in 1975, from 1982 on the side of the Muslims in the civil war, and expanded its influence to Lebanon. In 1989 an agreement was reached on a renewed distribution of denominations in parliament, this time in a ratio of 1 to 1 for both main religions.

Protests on Martyrs Square in Beirut on October 27, 2019

In 2005 there was the cedar revolution , which was supported by supporters of pro-Western and anti-Syrian parties. The pro-Syrian government was dissolved and Syria was forced to withdraw its troops and secret agents. Protests broke out again in Lebanon in October 2019. During these protests the system of proportional representation was the subject of violent attacks; it cemented the system in which government posts were divided according to quotas. “In the 1990s, this compromise helped end the civil war. It is now paralyzing the country, ”wrote Lea Frehse in Die Zeit . The protests broke the established system of proportional representation from within; Lebanese of all denominations and ages are protesting in the streets. They do not wave party flags, they wave Lebanese flags. It was also completely new that the protests spread across all parts of the country. Even those in which Hezbollah , close to Iran, dominates.

On December 19, 2019, the President of Lebanon asked the university professor Hassan Diab , a former education minister supported by Hezbollah, to form a new government. Michel Aoun named Diab Prime Minister after a day of consultation after winning a simple majority in the 128-member parliament. 69 parliamentarians, including the parliamentary bloc of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements , as well as a group affiliated with President Michel Aoun gave him their votes. Diab was only able to present his new cabinet on January 21, 2020 . After the resignation of the Diab cabinet as a result of the explosion in Beirut 2020 , the former ambassador to Germany, Mustapha Adib , was tasked with forming a government on August 31, 2020 .

State building

The Lebanese constitution has been in force since 1926, and was last amended in 1999. It contains a number of fundamental rights.

executive

The head of state is the president, who holds office for six years. He is elected by parliament and must be a Maronite Christian . An immediate re-election of the President is not possible. The executive rests with the government, chaired by the Prime Minister, who must be a Sunni Muslim . The Prime Minister (also called Prime Minister) is appointed by the President and confirmed by Parliament. All decisions by the President require the approval of the Cabinet , which in turn is responsible to Parliament. The personnel composition should also reflect the religious-denominational composition of the country according to the principle of denominational parity . The commander in chief of the armed forces must again be a Christian .

Judiciary

The judiciary consists of several institutions. The most important is the Supreme Council , which listens to the complaints against the President and the Prime Minister. There is also the Lebanese Constitutional Council , which has existed since the Taif Agreement and which ensures that laws are constitutional. There are also the 4 courts of cassation, which consist of 3 courts for economic and civil matters and a court specifically for crimes. In addition to these courts, there is also military jurisdiction , which deals with matters relating to national security (such as espionage and treason ).

legislative branch

Distribution of seats by religion in the Lebanese parliament per district

The National Assembly of Lebanon is the legislature. The deputies are elected for four years. The speaker (s) in the National Assembly must be Shiite . Every citizen from 21 years of age has the right to vote, and a general right to vote applies to all citizens regardless of gender or religion. Since the Taif Agreement, parliament has to be composed according to religious proportionality. However, MPs in parliament often represent local rather than national interests. Gerrymandering is often practiced here. The members of parliament, who are adherents of the respective denominations, are accordingly distributed among the parliamentary seats as follows:

Parties

There are a number of political parties in Lebanon as the country has a multi-party system . Belonging to a party, however, usually weighs little with the electorate. Belonging to a religious community is far more important in Lebanon's political system. Accordingly, the various parties often have their constituency in a particular religious group. The ideology or the program of the respective party is mostly of little importance (although all parties have a political program and can theoretically be assigned to an ideology). The coalitions are mainly alliances of convenience. So far, no party has managed to get more than an eighth of the vote. The last parliamentary election took place in 2009.

The most influential parties in politics are:

administration

The 6 governorates of Lebanon

Lebanon is divided into 8 governorates ( Arabic : muhafazat , singular - muhafazah ). These in turn are made up of a total of 25 districts :

In 2018, the electoral law, including electoral districts, was changed.

  1. Beirut (Capital District)
  2. Akkar ( district : Akkar ), administrative seat: Halba
  3. Mont-Liban ( districts : Jbeil, Keserwan , El Metn, Baabda, Aley, Chouf ), administrative headquarters: Baabda
  4. Baalbek-Hermel ( districts : Hermel, Baalbek), administrative seat: Baalbek
  5. Bekaa ( districts : Zahlé, West Bekaa , Rashaya), administrative headquarters: Zahlé
  6. Nabatieh ( districts : Nabatäa, Hasbaya, Marjayoun, Bent Jbeil), administrative seat: Nabatieh
  7. North ( districts : Akkar, Tripoli, Zgharta , Minnieh-Dinnieh, Koura, Bscharre, Batroun ), administrative headquarters: Tripoli
  8. South ( districts : Jezzine, Saida , Sour ), administrative seat: Sidon

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The protest as a festival: Suddenly in the Middle East there is again a people in revolt. In Lebanon, hundreds of thousands are peacefully calling for the government to resign. Die Zeit , October 25, 2019, accessed on November 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Lebanon president Aoun names former minister Diab next PM. Al Ahram, December 19, 2019, accessed December 19, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Naharnet Newsdesk: Diab: Govt. Will Seek to Meet Protesters Demands, Recover Stolen Funds. Naharnet, January 21, 2020, accessed on January 22, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Lebanon taps diplomat Mustapha Adib to lead new government. Deutsche Welle , August 31, 2020, accessed on August 31, 2020 (English).
  5. ↑ a b c State structure of Lebanon
  6. ^ Jurisdiction in Lebanon
  7. ^ History of Lebanon