19 February, 2010.
The election by the proportional rule is not
democracy.
It gives Mafiosi leaders the power to share authority and money
of the Lebanese State.
I - The realities of
Lebanese mentality:
1
In Lebanon, democracy is
false and special. Most Lebanese prefer their religious cultures before the
State laws. There are political parties led by the religious clergy among
Muslims. And most political parties that do not depend directly from religious
clergy power are still linked with a religion. In effect, each party leader can
rarely recruit supporters outside his religion. Some Muslims believe they can
dominate Lebanese Christians by committing to the policy of some racial and
religious dictators of the Arab and Muslim Middle East countries. They beg to
Syria and Iran with weapons and money to achieve these ambitions. Christians
take refuge in their communities and do not trust the pro-Syrian Muslims. In
this atmosphere, the concept of State has no value. The Lebanese Nation
disappears in people's minds. The division is vertical between Independence’s
Christians and pro-Syrian Muslims.
2
Thus, the democracy
evolution in Lebanon is paralyzed by groups more or less extremist, racist and
sectarian, especially since they are reinforced by armed militias.
3
To select modern
non-religious political Programs and moderate political personalities in a
democratic manner, we must minimize the effects of extremist groups. We should
also prohibit the religious clergies to do politics. This is unfortunately not
the case, now, in Lebanon.
4
We recall that the
presence of armed militias on Lebanese soil is the major obstacle to any real
democracy. The purchase of voters with money is another real problem. But this
is not the subject of this text. So we make this theoretical synthesis supposing
there are no armed militias or money influencing the democratic choices.
5
Elections by
proportional representation in Lebanon are proposed to strengthen the power of
each clan or mafia head. In fact, they want to create lists of candidates. Each
clan leader will choice his candidates list, most likely with paying the places
by the list members. Thereafter, all members of each list will feel indebted to
the leader. They are not free in opinions. They strengthen their chieftain
power. Members of a list does not represent the people with loyalty and
sincerity. They support their leader instead of thinking about the interests of
their constituents.
6
The proportional
election could represent correctly the different groups in society in an
assembly, but it does not ensure the creation of a moderate majority to be able
to govern. The Lebanese are divided into small groups or clans. An assembly
elected by proportional representation will be paralyzed. Small irreconcilable
extremist groups will fight among themselves, instead of finding a centrist and
moderate majority group. The gravity of this situation is that the Lebanese
armed extremists do not respect the law, neither judges nor the army nor the
will of the majority if there is one. We are not in a State of Law. Nobody
believes in the just authority of the State. In addition, neighboring countries
have an interest in dividing the Lebanese to annex parts or all of Lebanon. They
regularly interfere in Lebanese affairs. The misrepresentation of the people by
proportional rule is not democratic. True democracy must create a fair majority
to govern the people.
7
The purpose of fair
elections is not met by putting clans’ representatives in an assembly where they
can enjoy some of the taxpayers' money. The proportional rule will grow each
clan to claim a slice of the State. It opens the door to blackmail and
bargaining between clans’ heads.
8
Most Lebanese are wary
from politicians from other religions. In this atmosphere, the lists of election
by proportional representation may be sectarian. Instead of having programs of
secular reforms, that serves all citizens of all beliefs and non-beliefs,
choices will be wrong in the handling of religious mistrust between voters and
candidates.
9
But the worst drawbacks
of proportional elections is to maintain the power of mafia leaders, and feudal
clans, whatever they are the numbers of their supporters and voters. Indeed, it
is the rich feudal lord, who have often inherited its family power, to create
the candidates list with putting himself at the head of the list. He ranks the
names of candidates on his list. He is accustomed to bargain places. Whatever
happens, the first names of the lists will be elected. There is therefore a
deprivation of freedom of choice of candidates by voters. If a worthy but poor
candidate wishes to act in politics, he cannot be elected if he does not rank
behind a clan leader to serve him. The heads of mafias confiscate the powers.
That's why you'll see that most feudal politicians, and clan leaders, prefer
proportional representation in the local and national elections ! That is how
they secure a share of power, whatsoever are the election results.
II - The LSTDO
position is with majority voting:
1
We recall in the
preamble that we are talking about a Lebanese people philosophically and
psychologically ill because of conflicting religious indoctrination and the
legacy of racial wars in the Middle East. True democracy can be established with
a constitution that protects the rights of all communities that are the
consequences of the history of the Middle East, including the rights of the
Jewish people. You cannot pretend to respect the rights of Christians in
Lebanon, when you say you want suppress the State of Israel. All peoples have
the right to exist. It is no use crying crimes of "the enemy". We want fair
solutions for all peoples.
2
Remember also that you
cannot have a true democracy if citizens do not feel free of opinions and are in
security for their lives, for their work, their property and their families. For
this, they expect to see a secular, democratic, just, independent and strong
State, capable of protecting all citizens. This situation does not exist
currently in Lebanon.
3
I am pessimistic, but I
hope to help guide young Lebanese in the hope of a gradual correction of these
defects.
4
In a situation of free
election without racial, or religious, or money manipulation, or military
threats, it is the selection of political candidates directly by voters, which
can ensure the birth of true democracy in Lebanon. Each citizen must choose a
candidate based on his personality and his reform program without any sectarian
or religious discrimination. The candidate will be accountable to the citizens
and not to a clan leader or mafia chieftain. These goals are possible in a
majority system where candidates are chosen by decreasing number of their
voters.
5
In a majority vote, a
clan leader is a single candidate. He cannot dominate the will of others. No
foreign interference can change the politics of Lebanon. Indeed, in the Lebanese
parliament, there will be 128 independent deputies. Everyone thinks freely on
each project. It's the same in local elections. Corruption by money or threats
will be ineffective.
6
When there are more
candidates than the number of political posts to be filled, the majority voting
in two or three rounds permit to choose the highest ranked candidates.
Democratic rule must be respected as if we respect the outcome of sports games.
Winners must govern. When there is only one vacancy, several ballots may lead
necessarily to choose the best candidate in assembling at the final selection a
majority behind him. The highest ranked candidate is necessarily more human and
supportive of projects that benefit to all Lebanese.
7
The abolition of the
religious balance between Christians and Muslims is impossible in Lebanon today.
Indeed, some Lebanese Muslims are indoctrinated to bind the Lebanese State to
dictatorships of some Arab-Muslim Middle East countries. They represent a danger
to other Lebanese, especially since they are armed and financed by foreign
interference and may make coups. A unified and democratic Lebanon can only
survive by creating a trust relationship between Christians and Muslims in
modern culture, conscious of Lebanon independence and the separation of State
from any religious or racial institution. Most Lebanese are believers, but the
solution is to live in a secular state that respects freedom of belief. The
removal of mistrust between Muslims and Christians impose constitutional sharing
of public positions of the Lebanese State by half for Muslims and half for
Christians. This is not to spend the confessional. The sole purpose is to remove
the distrust between the two major religious cultures in the country. Candidates
for public office should be selected according to their skills through
transparent competitions without any interference by political or religious
clans.
As for public political
positions, we believe that the majority ballots facilitate the establishment of
local religions-balanced political assemblies. For example, for an assembly of
six political posts, we can nominate the three first Christian candidates among
Christians and the three first Muslim candidates among Muslims. This is the
price that trust can save the country's unity. The religious mistrust existed
for two thousand years and not a dictation by a dictator, can change this
reality. A politician must work in a secular spirit to serve all citizens
without any discrimination.
The religious
equilibrium may be unnecessary in local elections when a village or neighborhood
of a city's population is overwhelmingly of one religion. A threshold percentage
can be chosen beyond which the rule of the religious balance will be applied.
For example, if the Christian minority in a neighborhood of Beirut exceeds 25%
of the population, the rule of the balance between Christians and Muslims must
be applied.
8
In big cities,
neighborhood divisions are necessary for municipalities to be close to the
citizens and to have a human face. Rules of cooperation should be established
between municipalities in the same town or between neighboring villages. Thus,
local politicians will be evaluated regularly by the voters. We will avoid the
hegemony of certain feudal families and some local Mafiosi.
9
The proportional votes give seats in the assemblies to minority
holders bearing extremist ideas. The majority votes favor moderate ideas, as the
candidate will have to muster a majority behind his political project to win.
10
In total, the majority
electoral system allows:
- To remove foreign
interference in Lebanese internal affairs, since the politician is accountable
only to his constituents and the Lebanese judiciary,
- To remove the
influence of feudal leaders, rich mafias, and religious clans leaders, as the
political candidate speaks directly to citizens without licking the boots of
these feudal,
-
To permit to compete for local and national clean personalities to be
politicians, democratic and free from any influence by money or threats.
Indeed, assassinations and
threats will not change the political orientation of the majority of Lebanese
people, because the politician is elected directly by the people for short time,
- To choose
political representatives accountable only to voters,
- To
facilitate the establishment of local and national assemblies, religiously
balanced to remove any suspicion or religious manipulation.
Elected officials can rule on the base of
coherent majority without religious label.
- The
proportional votes give seats in the assemblies to minority holders bearing
extremist ideas. The majority votes favor moderate ideas, as the candidate will
have to muster a majority behind his political project to win.
Yes, we want a
democratic and peaceful Lebanon of ancient Phoenicia.
We do not want our children to be massacred for
backward stupid ideas from some obscure religious chieftain, hungry for power.
The election by the
proportional rule is not democracy.
It gives Mafiosi leaders the power to share authority
and money of the Lebanese State.
