The Time of The Decline of Democracy: From Pactist Democracy to Sham Democracy
Opinion Analysis by Dr. Antonios Abou Kasm, Professor of International Law, Counsel pleading before International Criminal Courts, Visiting Contributor
May 14th, 2022
Innovative Lebanese concepts enriched the lexicon of democracies in the world. Seen in the aftermath of the Taif agreement, the parliamentary system was based on pactist, sectarian, consociational, quota, conventional, parity, proportional,and complex democracy. Accordingly, consociational democracy or the democracy of compromises prevailed at the expense of the law. Pactist democracy entered after the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon in 2005, when it was raised at times by Christian groups, and at other times by Shiite Muslims, who had been marginalized since Ta’if, to challenge the legitimacy of government decisions and to prevent the parliament from adopting laws or agreements hostile to the Islamic Resistance project. The question now is; is it the turn of the Sunni Muslims to brandish the sword of Pactism to disrupt the effects of the upcoming elections in May 2022?
One of the outcomes of Lebanese democracy is the democracy of losing a quorum, which has turned into a constitutional custom, which is even applied by the Constitutional Council (!). In addition, vacuum democracy, which produced the theory of constitutional vacuum and the policy of disassociation from the Constitution, is also observed as an outcome of Lebanese democracy.
It goes beyond the Pactism of the elected Parliament. The main flaws that affect the spirit of true democracy and the parliamentary system lie in the electoral law that, arguably, does not secure proper representation. In addition to the fact that it adopts hybrid and unequal electoral districts, whose aim is, arguably, only to ensure the access of certain people to Parliament and only to secure the continuity of their presence in power.
The problem facing democracy in Lebanon lies in the rate of participation in the parliamentary elections, which did not exceed 49 percent in the 2018 elections, and it appears that is to be expected to be even lower in the 2022 elections. Where is the legitimacy of a legislative authority in which less than half of the electorate participated? What is the legality of a deputy who won a match in which less than half of the citizens participated? What is the status of the legitimacy of a deputy who won a hundred votes and became the representative of the entire nation? What legitimacy for legislative elections without the participation of most of the Sunni community? What legitimacy for elections in which the principals in power share the ministerial portfolios in advance as a price for the success of the formation of the electoral lists?
In any case, the protestors have over the years failed to change the foundations of the Lebanese quota democracy, and protests have thus far only resulted in destructive chaos in the street, and only accomplished a case that accelerated the bankruptcy of banks, creating riots, and destroying property. Essentially, it failed in becoming a revolution. Unfortunately, the street movement has produced an alliance between what calls itself the “revolution” and feudalism, and between the “revolution” and the heirs of the old family guard, a situation that no democracy in the world has ever witnessed. How does the alliance of revolution and feudalism differ from the case of the alliance of Money and Reform against Change?
After closing the door for candidacy and the registration of de facto, heterogeneous lists, and only to achieve the dream of the parties to maintain their positions, the latter succeeded with traditional figures to capture this golden opportunity to arguably preserve the same political class in Parliament and maintain the same rules of the game.
The May 2022 elections are nothing but a sham democracy, which the existing authority seeks to gain constitutional legitimacy for four new years, which may strip it before the international community of the accusation of the failed authority that led to the collapse of the country and the fall of the concept of the State. This glorious victory of the traditional political class since the time of the civil war, through a theatre of electoral merit, is an example of sham democracy, where some groups participate under the guise of the opposition to stimulate the game and tighten the nerves of their audience. This way, the elections in Lebanon do not become a pledge of allegiance to groups and militias that consider themselves political parties. The high-ceiling declarations between the loyalists and the opposition are at the heart of the rules of the sham election game, where the main criterion is the participation in the play to make it a success. Whoever ran as an independent candidate, believing in change, fell into the trap of participating in the play to provide an already lost credibility.
What, then, is the significance of the entitlement to the May 2022 elections?
Why is the international community counting on them? What change will the new Assembly produce in light of a fictitious opposition whose alliances have been imposed by external forces to ensure the success of the scenario? Why the urgency and insistence on holding elections with the available attendees only instead of the real battle being in the change of the corrupt electoral system? Is the urgency to ensure the election of a President of the Republic emerging from this destructive bankrupt class?
Does the international community not know that the new generation, who is relied on in principle to bring change, has emigrated from the country? Does the international community not know that the remaining of the Lebanese brains in Lebanon do not have the financial means to participate in the elections because the power parties and banks have confiscated their money and turned it into fake accounts?
There, the problem of the source of funds for most of the current candidates is raised considering the monetary crisis due to the financial and economic collapse. Who finances the elections? How are the candidates funding the electoral campaign and covering the consequent expenses, bearing in mind the ongoing crisis?
Are the Lebanese accustomed to this kind of formal entitlements as the most “Hated Halal”? Is he not ashamed of the one who brought the country to bankruptcy, to seek to renew his legitimacy with the people’s looted money, to become the country’s bankruptcy agent? If you are not ashamed go and run then for elections.
Regarding the outcomes of the Lebanese democracy, it might result the demands of a “Self-Governance” to the Syrian migrants in Lebanon, whom in fact have lived in Lebanon for a period of more than ten years, and the number exceeds an estimated half of the population of Lebanon. Having in mind that they were officially given the “Key of Beirut” twenty years ago by the Late PM Rafic HARIRI, many entities are expecting to push them to independence, following the Ukrainian example; knowing that they have the support of the potential 2022 parliament members who are fluent in the same language of the Syrian Regime, as they are used to its accent while dancing, twirling, bopping, while being swear, insulted and humiliated.
As a result of the State’s bankruptcy, the impoverishment of citizens, their killing and the destruction of their future, the people in power, loyal and opposed to them, should completely withdraw from political life out of respect for the lives of the Lebanese who were lost while they are still on the verge of life; then they should before the end of their mandate pass a new non-sectarian electoral law ensuring the equal representation, in addition to the implementation of the Constitution by establishing a Senate, and this is a token of apology from the Lebanese people, whose youth at that time deserve to decide their destiny, as true democracy is not manifested by sham entitlements that are not worthy of Lebanon, as Beirut is the Nutris Legum.