Parliament of Lebanon

Allocation of seats

A unique feature of the Lebanese system is the principle of "confessional distribution": each religious community has an allotted number of deputies in the Parliament in a form of consociationalism.

In elections held between 1932 and 1972, seats were apportioned between Christians and Muslims in a 6:5 ratio, with various denominations of the two faiths allocated representation roughly proportional to their size. By the 1960s, Muslims had become openly dissatisfied with this system, aware that their own higher birthrate and the higher emigration rate among Christians had by this time almost certainly produced a Muslim majority, which the parliamentary distribution did not reflect. Christian politicians were unwilling to abolish or alter the system, however, and it was one of the factors in the 1975–1990 civil war. The Taif Agreement of 1989, which ended the civil war, reapportioned the Parliament to provide for equal representation of Christians and Muslims, with each electing 64 of the 128 deputies.

Although distributed confessionally, all members, regardless of their religious faith, are elected by universal suffrage, forcing politicians to seek support from outside of their own religious communities, unless their co-religionists overwhelmingly dominate their particular constituency.

The changes stipulated by the Taif Agreement of 1989 are set out in the table below:

Members

Main article: List of members of the 2022–2026 Lebanese Parliament

Political parties

Main article: List of political parties in Lebanon

Numerous political parties exist in Lebanon. Many parties are little more than ad hoc electoral lists, formed by negotiation among influential local figures representing the various confessional communities; these lists usually function only for the purpose of the election, and do not form identifiable groupings in the parliament subsequently. Other parties are personality-based, often comprising followers of a present or past political leader or warlord. Few parties are based, in practice, on any particular ideology, although in theory most claim to be.

No single party has ever won more than 12.5 percent of the total number of seats in the Parliament, and until 2005 no coalition ever won more than a third of the total. The general election held in 2005, however, resulted in a clear majority (72 seats out of 128) being won by the alliance led by Saad Hariri (son of murdered former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri); half of these were held by Hariri's own Future Movement.

Speaker

Main article: List of Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon

The Speaker of the Parliament, who by custom must be a Shi'a Muslim, is now elected to a four-year term, and is the highest office in the parliament. Prior to the Taif Agreement, they were elected to a two-year term. They form part of a "troika", together with the President (required to be a Maronite Christian) and the Prime Minister (a Sunni Muslim). The privileges of the Speaker are unusually powerful, relative to other democratic systems. The current speaker is the leader of the Amal Party, Nabih Berri.

Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon is the second highest-ranking official of the Lebanese Parliament. The office is always attributed to a Greek Orthodox practitioner.

Parliamentary committees

The Lebanese parliament has sixteen committees to facilitate the legislative process and provide oversight on specific areas of government policy. The Finance and Budget Committee is considered the most important, as it reviews the government's budget and spending plans. Other influential committees include Administration and Justice, Health and Labor, and Economy and Industry.

List of committees:

• Administration and Justice Committee (Chairman: Georges Adwan - LF)
• Finance and Budget Committee (Chairman: Ibrahim Kanaan - FPM)
• Foreign and Expatriate Affairs Committee (Chairman: Fadi Alameh - Amal Movement)
• Public Works and Energy Committee (Chairman: Sajeeh Ateya - Independent)
• Education and Culture Committee (Chairman: Hassan Mrad - Union Party)
• Public Health, Labor, and Social Affairs Committee (Chairman: Bilal Abdullah - PSP)
• Defense, Interior, and Municipal Affairs Committee (Chairman: Jihad Al Samad - Independent)
• Displaced Affairs Committee (Chairman: Hagop Pakradounian - Tashnag)
• Agriculture and Tourism Committee (Chairman: Ayoub Hmayed - Amal Movement)
• Environment Committee (Chairman: Ghayyath Yazbek - Lebanese Forces)
• Economy, Industry, and Planning Committee (Chairman: Michel Daher - Independent)
• Media and Telecommunications Committee (Chairman: Ibrahim Al Moussawi - Hezbollah)
• Youth and Sports Committee (Chairman: Simon Abi Ramia - Independent)
• Human Rights Committee (Chairman: Michel Moussa - Amal Movement)
• Women and Children Committee (Chairman: Inaya Ezzedine - Amal Movement)
• Information Technology Committee (Chairman: Tony Frangieh - Marada)

Electoral system

Main article: Elections in Lebanon

According to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law of 2017, elections are held on a Sunday during the 60 days preceding the end of the sitting parliament's mandate. In June 2017 a new electoral law was passed. While in the previous system, the 128 members of parliament were elected from 26 multi-member constituencies under plurality block voting, and the candidates with the highest number of votes within each religious community were elected, the new electoral law instituted proportional representation in 15 multi-member constituencies while still maintaining the confessional distribution. However, the 7 out of the 15 of the electoral districts are divided into 2 or more 'minor districts' (largely corresponding to the smaller electoral districts from the old electoral law). Where applicable, preference vote is counted on the 'minor district' level.

Parliament building

Notes

References

• Davie, May (1997). The History and Evolution of Public Spaces in Beirut Central District. Solidere. Beirut.
• Saliba, Robert (2004). Beirut City Center Recovery: The Foch-Allenby and Etoile Conservation Area. Steidel. Göttingen.

References

1. "The 19 Lebanese Forces MPs wrote 'the strong republic' on their papers to confirm that they did not vote for Berri".
2. (2022-05-17). "Factbox: What is the make-up of Lebanon's new parliament?". Reuters.
3. (2022-05-17). "Factbox: What is the make-up of Lebanon's new parliament?". Reuters.
4. "Lebanese Kataeb Party – حزب الكتائب اللبنانية".
5. Sabaghi, Dario. (2023-06-01). "Have Lebanon's new opposition MPs made a difference?".
6. "National Moderation Bloc from Baabda Palace: We nominate Judge Nawaf Salam to form the new government".
7. "Political shift: National Consensus Bloc emerges with five Sunni MPs".
8. ""Independent Consultative Gathering" bloc names Nawaf Salam for premiership".
9. "Independent National Bloc Names Mikati for Premiership".
10. ""Project Watan" and MP Nabil Badr name Nawaf Salam for premiership".
11. (2022-06-22). "MP Michel Mouawad announces parliamentary bloc, 'Independents and Sovereignists'".
12. "ريفي لـ'النهار': نسعى إلى ترتيب البيت السنّي وهذه عناوين حزب 'سند' وأهدافه".
13. ""Change Alliance" bloc names Nawaf Salam for premiership".
14. "MPs 2022 – The Free Patriotic Movement".
15. (7 December 2022). "Boujikian dismissed from Armenian bloc for attending Monday's session".
16. "ICL - Lebanon - Constitution".
17. "Lebanon's Constitution of 1926 with Amendments through 2004".
18. "Lebanese electoral law 2017".
19. "National Pact | Lebanon [1943] | Britannica".
20. "Taif Agreement".
21. "National Pact | Lebanon [1943] | Britannica".
22. [https://lp.gov.lb/Committees Committees of the Parliament of Lebanon] ''lp.gov.lb'' (retrieved 7/25/24)
23. (2022-06-10). "Here Are The Chairmen & Rapporteurs Of The New Lebanese Parliament Committees".
24. "Lebanon's Constitution of 1926 with Amendments through 2004".
25. "Lebanese electoral law 2017".
26. [http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2179_B.htm Electoral system] Inter-Parliamentary Union
27. [http://gulfnews.com/opinion/editorials/lebanon-passing-parliamentary-law-is-a-step-in-right-direction-1.2044624 Lebanon passing parliamentary law is a step in right direction] Gulf News, 16 June 2017
28. ''[http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/mideast/LB/lebanon-law-no.44-parliamentary-elections-2017/at_download/file Table Attached to Law 44 dated 17/6/2017 (Official Gazette no.27 dated 17 June 2017) – Distribution of Seats to the Confessions and Districts]'' ACE Project
29. ''Gulf News''. ''[http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/lebanon/lebanon-to-hold-parliamentary-elections-in-may-2018-1.2043638 Lebanon to hold parliamentary elections in May 2018]''