Politics of Lebanon

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Lebanese Republic الجمهورية اللبنانية ( Arabic) Al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah
Flag of Lebanon
Polity type	Unitary Parliamentary republic democratic republic
Constitution	Constitution of Lebanon
Legislative branch
Name	Parliament of Lebanon
Type	Unicameral
Meeting place	Parliament Building in Beirut
Presiding officer	Nabih Berri, Speaker
Executive branch
Head of State
Title	President
Currently	Vacant
Appointer	Elected by Parliament
Head of Government
Title	Prime Minister
Currently	Najib Mikati
Appointer	President, on parliament’s advice
Cabinet
Name	Council of Ministers
Leader	Prime Minister
Appointer	The Prime Minister with the President
Judicial branch
Name	Judicial branch

Politics of Lebanon
Member State of the Arab League
Constitution Constitution of 1926 Human rights
Executive President (list) Michel Aoun Prime Minister (list) Najib Mikati Cabinet Past Cabinets
Legislature Parliament Speaker: Nabih Berri
Subdivisions Governorates Districts Municipalities
Elections Recent elections Presidential: 2022–2023 General: 2009 2018 2022 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister: Abdallah Bou Habib Diplomatic missions of / in Lebanon Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Lebanon portal Other countries
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Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution of Lebanon grants the people the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the parliamentary elections in 1992, the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) precluded the exercise of political rights.

According to the constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every four years, however after the parliamentary election in

Overview

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The

Sunni Muslim

.

Efforts to alter or abolish the confessional system of allocating power have been at the centre of Lebanese politics for decades. Those religious groups most favoured by the 1943 formula sought to preserve it, while those who saw themselves at a disadvantage sought either to revise it after updating key demographic data or to abolish it entirely. Nonetheless, many of the provisions of the national pact were codified in the 1989 Taif Agreement, perpetuating sectarianism as a key element of Lebanese political life.

Although moderated somewhat under Ta'if, the Constitution gives the president a strong and influential position. The president has the authority to promulgate laws passed by the Parliament, form the government to issue supplementary regulations to ensure the execution of laws, and to negotiate and ratify treaties.

The Parliament is elected by adult suffrage (majority age for election is 21)^[4] based on a system of majority or "winner-take-all" for the various confessional groups. There has been a recent effort to switch to proportional representation which many argue will provide a more accurate assessment of the size of political groups and allow minorities to be heard. Most deputies do not represent political parties as they are known in the West, and rarely form Western-style groups in the assembly. Political blocs are usually based on confessional and local interests or on personal/family allegiance rather than on political affinities.

The parliament traditionally has played a significant role in financial affairs, since it has the responsibility for levying taxes and passing the budget. It also exercises political control over the cabinet through formal questioning of ministers on policy issues and by requesting a confidence debate.

Lebanon's judicial system is based on the Napoleonic Code. Juries are not used in trials. The Lebanese court system has three levels—courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and the court of cassation. There also is a system of religious courts having jurisdiction over personal status matters within their own communities, e.g., rules on such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

Lebanese political institutions often play a secondary role to highly confessionalized personality-based politics. Powerful families also still play an independent role in mobilizing votes for both local and parliamentary elections. Nonetheless, a lively panoply of domestic

On 3 September 2004, the Lebanese Parliament voted 96–29 to amend the constitution to extend President Émile Lahoud's six-year term (which was about to expire) by another three years. The move was supported by Syria, which maintained a large military presence in Lebanon.

Former prime minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated in February 2005.^[6] Following the withdrawal of

In January 2015, the

From October 2019, there have been mass protests against the government. In August 2020, a large explosion in Beirut killed at least 204 people and caused at least US$3 billion in property damage. Following the explosion and protests against the government, the prime minister and his cabinet resigned.^[7]

In May 2022, Lebanon held its first election since a painful economic crisis dragged it to the brink of becoming a failed state. Lebanon's crisis has been so severe that more than 80 percent of the population is now considered poor by the United Nations. In the election Iran-backed Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement and its allies lost their parliamentary majority. Hezbollah did not lose any of its seats, but its allies lost seats. Hezbollah’s ally, President Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, was no longer the biggest Christian party after the election. A rival Christian party, led by Samir Geagea, with close ties to Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese Forces (LF), made gains. Sunni Future Movement, led by former prime minister Saad Hariri, did not participate the election, leaving a political vacuum to other Sunni politicians to fill.^{[8] [9] [10]}

Executive branch

The

Lebanon operates under a strong semi-presidential system. This system is unique in that it grants the president wide unilateral discretion, does not make him accountable to Parliament (unless for treason), yet is elected by the Parliament. The president has the sole power to appoint the prime minister, and may dismiss them at any point (without input from the Chamber of Deputies, which can also force the president to resign). In addition, the president has the sole authority to form a government (which must then receive a vote-of-confidence from Parliament) and dismiss it when they wish. This thus makes Lebanon a president-parliamentary system rather than a premier-presidential system (such as France), as the president does not have to cohabitate with a prime minister he dislikes. The historical reason for the broad powers of the president are that their powers were merged with those of the French high commissioner of Greater Lebanon, thus creating an exceptionally powerful presidency for semi-presidential systems.^[12]

Following the end of the Lebanese Civil War, the president lost some powers to the Council of Ministers through the Taif Agreement; being the sole person who appoints it, however, they de facto still retain all (or most) of their pre-Taif powers.

Legislative branch

Lebanon's

Seats in the Parliament are confessionally distributed but elected by universal suffrage. Each religious community has an allotted number of seats in the Parliament. They do not represent only their co-religionists, however; all candidates in a particular constituency, regardless of religious affiliation, must receive a plurality of the total vote, which includes followers of all confessions. The system was designed to minimize inter-sectarian competition and maximize cross-confessional cooperation: candidates are opposed only by co-religionists, but must seek support from outside of their own faith in order to be elected.

The opposition

The following table sets out the confessional allocation of seats in the Parliament before and after the Taif Agreement.

Current parliament

March 8 Alliance (caretaker government) (60)

• Strong Lebanon Bloc (20)
  •   FPM (17)
  •   ARF (3)
• Development and Liberation Bloc (15)
  •   Amal Movement (14)
  •   Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (1)
• Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc (15)
  •   Hezbollah (13)
  •   Independents (2)
• March 8 Affiliates (10)
  •   Independents (4)
  •   Marada Movement (2)
  •   Al-Ahbash (2)
  •   PNO (1)
  •   Union Party (1)

March 14 Alliance (38)

• Strong Republic Bloc (22)
  •   LF (19)
  •  
    Rifi Bloc
    (2)
  •   NLP (1)
•   Ex-Future Movement (8)
•   Kataeb Party (5)
•   Independence Movement (2)
•   Islamic Group (1)

Other Opposition (30)

•  
  Civil Society
  (13)
  •   Independent (4)
  •   Taqaddum (2)
  •   Tahalof Watani (1)
  •   LCP (1)
  •   ReLebanon (1)
  •   Beirut Tuqawem (1)
  •   Khatt Ahmar (1)
  •   Lana (1)
  •   Osos Lebanon (1)
• Democratic Gathering Bloc (9)
  •   PSP (8)
  •   Independents (1)
•   Independents (8)

Judicial branch

Lebanon is a civil law country. Its judicial branch is composed of:

• Ordinary Courts:
  • One
    Court of Cassation composed of nine chambers ^[13]
  • Courts of Appeal (in the centre of every governorate) ^[13]
  • Courts of First Instance ^[13]
• Special Courts:
  • The Constitutional Council (called for in the Taif Agreement) rules on constitutionality of laws
  • The Supreme Council hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed.
  • A system of military courts that also has jurisdiction over civilians for the crimes of espionage, treason, and other crimes that are considered to be security-related.^[14]

Political parties and elections

Lebanon has numerous political parties, but they play a much less significant role in Lebanese politics than they do in most parliamentary democracies. Many of the "parties" are simply lists of candidates endorsed by a prominent national or local figure. Loose coalitions, usually organized locally, are formed for electoral purposes by negotiation among clan leaders and candidates representing various religious communities; such coalitions usually exist only for the election, and rarely form a cohesive block in the Parliament after the election. No single party has ever won more than 12.5 percent of the seats in the Parliament, and no coalition of parties has won more than 35 percent.

Especially outside of the major cities, elections tend to focus more on local than national issues, and it is not unusual for a party to join an electoral ticket in one constituency while aligned with a rival party – even an ideologically opposite party – in another constituency.

It is not uncommon for election times to be accompanied by outbreaks of violence, especially in polling areas where there are people of conflicting political and religious backgrounds. Sectarianism is so ingrained into Lebanese politics and society that citizens supporting their political parties will kill or be killed defending them.

International participation

Lebanon participates in the international community through both international organizations and enacting international policy practices, such as the Sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement.

Member organizations

See also

• Foreign relations of Lebanon
• Environmental policy of Lebanon
• History of Lebanon
• Lebanese diaspora
• Lebanese identity card
• Lebanese passport

References