GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Lebanons convoluted system of governance has taken center stage, as public service
demonstrations swell on the streets of downtown Beirut. The Mediterranean countrys current
political system was forged after a 15-year civil war that ended in 1989 with the Saudi
Arabian-negotiated Taif Agreement. Its parliamentary government system is based on
securing representation for the countrys numerous religious sects. The system gives
relatively small parties disproportionate political weight, enough to block important legislation.

Here are five things to know about who has power in the government.

1. Parliament is Divided Among Religious Groups

Lebanons 18 recognized religious sects are all recognized in Parliament. The

Parliament, with its 128 seats, is divided equally among Muslims and Christians.
The most powerful of these political forces include Maronite and Greek Orthodox
Christians, Shiite and Sunni Muslims and adherents to the ancient Druse faith. The
president must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the
Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim.

2. There Are Seven Main Parties

There are seven main political parties in Lebanon. These parties, along with
several other smaller groups, are divided into two main political blocs. March 8 is a
pro-Syria, Iran-backed umbrella group that includes the militant group Hezbollah
and the Christian Free Patriotic Movement party. On the other side theres Western-
backed March 14, dominated by the Sunni Muslim majority Future Movement party,
and two large Christian parties, Lebanese Forces and Kateab.

3. There Has Been No President for More Than a Year

Under the 1943 National Pact, the presidency must go to a Maronite Christian.
As Lebanons Christians have emigrated out of the country and the Muslim
population has increased, the power of the presidency has faded into a largely
symbolic role. The Taif Agreement shifted many of the presidents responsibilities to
the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister. Lebanon has been without a president
for over a year due to the parliaments inability to collectively agree on who should
lead the country.

4. Parliament Rarely Agrees

Parliament has also been unable to agree on terms for fresh legislative
elections since the last round of voting in 2009, nor on a president. On 31 May
2013, the Parliament extended its mandate for 17 months, and then extended it
again on 5 November 2014 until June 2017. Experts argue that the extensions have
little legal basis in the countrys constitution.

5. Hezbollah Has Substantial Power

Hezbollah, the armed Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran, holds 12 seats in the
Parliament. Its political bloc, March 8, holds 57 of 128 seats, giving Hezbollah a
substantial amount of influence inside the government. Unlike other Lebanese
political parties, Hezbollah is heavily armed and its military wing conducts itself
much like an independent army. The group is closely allied with regime of Syrian
president Bashar al-Assad and has for years sent its forces and military consultants
into Syria to fight alongside his troops.

What Type Of Government Does Lebanon Have?

Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic in which the prime minister leads the
executive branch of the government. The government of Lebanon is based on a
confessionalism framework, which is a type of consociationalism, meaning representatives of
particular religious communities hold the highest offices that are reserved for them in a
proportional system. Lebanon's Constitution allows its people the right to change their
government, but civil war hindered the country's citizens from exercising political rights from
the mid-1970s until 1992, when parliamentary elections were held. According to the
Constitution, direct elections for Parliament must be held every four years, the last of which
occurred in 2009. The Lebanese president is elected by parliament to serve a single term of 6
years, and they are not eligible for re-election. The last presidential elections were held in
2016. The formation of political parties is permitted, and most parties in the country are based
on the interests of particular sects. Following the Doha Agreement in 2008, the political arena
of Lebanon was changed so that the opposition was permitted a veto power in the Council of
Ministers of Lebanon and confirmed religious Confessionalism in the country's distribution of
political power.

The Executive Branch of the Government of Lebanon

The Parliament is responsible for electing the president of Lebanon, who serves a single
term of six years and cannot be re-elected. The president appoints the prime minister and
deputy prime minister, based on consultation with Parliament. Additionally, there are certain
religious requirements, such as the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shi'a Muslim, the prime
minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the president must be a Manorite Christian. According
to the census data of 1932 upon which the confessional system is based, Manorites comprise
of the population's vast majority. However, in recent years the Lebanese government has
refused to hold a new census.

The Legislative Branch of the Government of Lebanon

The Assembly of Representatives is the country's national legislature. Since the 1992
elections, there are 128 parliamentary seats. The four-year term was recently increased to
five. Parliamentary seats are elected through universal suffrage and are confessionally
distributed, meaning each religious group is given a certain number. Despite religious
affiliations, all candidates representing particular constituencies must get a plurality of the
total vote, including followers of all confessions.

The Judicial Branch of the Government of Lebanon

Since Lebanon operates under a civil law system, its judicial branch is composed of
Ordinary Courts and Special Courts. The Ordinary Courts include Courts of First Instance,
Courts of Appeal, and One Court of Cassation. Special Courts include a Constitutional
Council, a Supreme Court, and a military courts system. The Constitutional Council
addresses the constitutionality of legal issues, and the Supreme Council is responsible for
any charges against the prime minister and president, if necessary. Finally, the military courts
presides over civilians accused of treason, espionage, and other security related crimes.

Political Parties in Lebanon

Lebanon has many political parties. However, the various parties play a much less
significant role than in parliamentary democracies. Most parties are primarily a list of
candidates endorsed by a local or a prominent national figure. Locally organized loose
coalitions are established for the sole purpose of elections through negotiations between
candidates representing different religious sects and clan elders. However, after elections,
these coalitions rarely establish a united block in parliament since they only exist for electoral
purposes.

Summary

Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy in which the people constitutionally have the right
to change their government. However, until the parliamentary elections in 1992, the people
had not been able to exercise this right during 16 years of civil war. According to the
constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every 4 years. Parliament, in
turn, elects a president every 6 years. The last presidential election was in 1989. The
president and parliament choose the cabinet. Political parties may be formed and some in fact
flourish.

Since the emergence of the post-1943 state, national policy has been determined largely
by a relatively restricted group of traditional regional and sectarian leaders. The 1943 national
pact allocated political power on an essentially confessional system, based on the 1932
census. Until 1990, seats in parliament were divided on a 6-to-5 ratio of Christians to
Muslims. Positions in the government bureaucracy were allocated on a similar basis.

Efforts to alter or abolish the confessional system of allocating power have been at the
center of Lebanese politics for more than 30 years. A series of amendments has substantially
altered the constitution of 1926. Among the more significant is Article 95, which provides that
the confessional communities of Lebanon shall be equitably represented in public
employment and in the composition of the cabinet but that such a measure is not to impair the
general welfare of the state. This article supplements the National Covenant of 1943, an
unwritten agreement that established the political foundations of modern Lebanon. The
covenant provides that public offices shall be distributed among the recognized religious
groups and that the three top positions in the governmental systems shall be distributed as
follows: -- The president is to be a Maronite Christian; -- The prime minister, a Sunni Muslim,
and -- The president of the National Assembly, a Shi'a Muslim.

Those religious groups most favored by the 1943 formula sought to preserve it, while
those who perceived themselves to be disadvantaged sought to revise it on the basis of
updated demographic data or to abolish it entirely. The struggle gave a strongly sectarian
coloration to Lebanese politics and to the continuing civil strife in the country.

Under the national reconciliation agreement reached in Taif, Saudi Arabia, in October
1989, members of parliament agreed to alter the national pact to create a 50-50 Christian-
Muslim balance in the parliament and reorder the powers of the different branches of
government. The Taif agreement, the political reform aspects of which were signed into law in
September 1990, further modified the constitution to permit greater power-sharing and put in
writing many of the provisions of the national pact.

Constitutional amendments embodying the political reforms stipulated in the Taif

agreement became law in 1990. They included an expansion of the number of seats in
parliament and the division of seats equally between Muslims and Christians and the transfer
of some powers from the president to the prime minister and council of ministers.

Constitutionally, the president has a strong and influential position. The president
appoints the council of ministers and designates one of them to be prime minister. The
president also has the authority to promulgate laws passed by the National Assembly, to issue
supplementary regulations to ensure the execution of laws and to negotiate and ratify treaties.

The National Assembly, only sporadically active since 1975, is elected by adult suffrage
based on a system of proportional representation for the confessional groups of the country.
Most deputies do not represent political parties as they are known in the West, nor do they
form Western-style groups in the assembly. Political blocs are usually based on confessional
and local interests or on personal allegiance rather than on political affinities.

The assembly 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 on
personal status matters within their own communities, i.e., rules on such matters as marriage,
divorce and inheritance.

POLICAL CLEAVAGES

The major political cleavage present in Lebanon is religion. With the varying religions
present in the country, the etablishment of a sectarian political system in order to represent
different sects was needed. However, this political system called confessionalism became
overly chaotic due to opposing views of the sects which are being represented in the
government. Furthermore, it led to different problems in the Lebanese society. The following
are the scenarios brought about by the problematic political system

1. Lebanons confessional system is unsustainable in its current form, as it weakens

the state and fragments the nation. The principle of power-sharing has introduced a
cycle of clientelism and corruption which hinders Lebanons progression to full
democracy.
2. Furthermore, confessional structures leave those living outside the sectarian
framework severely lacking in civil liberties. Its focus on the sect renders Lebanon
vulnerable to rising religious strife outside its borders, as is evident in the Syrian
spillover. In addition, confessionalism has also contributed to the rise of Hezbollah,
an Islamist militia which at times exhibits greater political clout than the government
itself.
3. The political system itself is blocking reforms and creating tension in society and
between ethical and religious group
4. The system that is supposed to create equality has been stuck without a president
for over a year, it created a deadlock in parliament and is responsible for growing
social and economic tension concerning the dissimilar economic situation between
the Shiite, Sunnite and Christian population.
5. In addition, not only is the current government inactive, its parliament has also
unconstitutionally renewed its own mandate twice already.
6. State institutions have become highly unable to act and basic responsibilities cant
be fulfilled.
7. The increase of Syrian refugees that are fleeing from the civil war are now adding
up to the Palestinian refugees that already make up as much as 10% of the
population. The government is not able to address those problems due to its
deadlock.
Addtl:

The political system of Lebanon itself causes the problems. There are certain
institutions and legal documents that prevent change. The ruling elites but also other actors
like the Hezbollah or their financial support Iran benefit from the dispari-ties in society, all in
their own way. The legal framework of Lebanon and the most recent version of legal accords,
the TaIf Accords, are constituted in a way that supports the current political system as well as
the government and which hinders political and social reforms.

The system of a consociational democracy which is divided along religious

identities might seem equitable, but is not applicable in the current form in Lebanon.
The result of this political system is, more than ever, visible nowadays: Failed presidential
elections for over a year, a parliament that renewed their own mandate unconstitutionally
twice, corruption and protesters that demand a change in politics. The political system failed
to develop a national identity and rather focus on the differences between the political,
ethnical and religious groups.

The current division of power benefits the Christian and Sunni religious elites. The
president always has to be Christian Maronite and the Prime Minister Sunni, which leaves the
two most influential positions in the state to those two religious groups. Because this division
of power is based on a census from 1932, the Shia popula-tion which grew during the last
decades, is underrepresented.
 The constitution and legal framework create a separation between the religious
communities in many areas: politi-cal parties, schools, social communities. As long as
the aim of the National Pact and the Taif accords to abolish the confessional system in
Lebanon is not achieved, this separation in society will be difficult to overcome.

Bureaucratic corruption is a present problem that supports the current political

system and especially the Elites that profit from it. There are many cases of abuse of
power or position in the bureaucracy but also in other fields of interest. Clientilism is very
common in Lebanon, especially concerning the role of religious elites, and is often connected
to corruption, which makes it hard to reform. Every religious community, nevertheless, de-
mands the containment of corruption and more political transparency.

The Lebanese Hezbollah Movement

The opposition in Lebanon is influenced by Hezbollah and thus also by the financial aids
of Iran. It is an organization with many facets; it is seen as an Islamic movement, a political
party, an armed resistance group or even as a terrorist organization. Nevertheless, the
Hezbollah has a strong influence in Lebanese state and regional politics, formal and informal.
The organization is said to be supported by Iran and, mostly before the civil war in, also by
Syria financially and through arms.

It emerged with the help of Iran during the Israeli occupation of the Lebanese south in
the early 1980s, even though their beginnings can be tracked as far as 1978 as an Islamic
struggle movement of social and political progress. One aim was to abolish Lebanons
sectarian political system. The original Hezbollah identity was in-spired by Irans Islamic
Revolution and it was to peace-fully fight for improved socio-economic and political
possibilities for the deprived Shia community. The role of Islam changed during the years of
influence and the goal to completely change the sectarian political system has been
abandoned. Being a part of the March 8th movement including Christian and Secular parties
Hezbollah realized that in order to gain political influence, alliances are mandatory and
thereby is closely affiliated to the Christian Free Partiotic Movement (FPM) led by former chief
of staff Michel Aoun. Still, the Muslim identity and ideology plays an important role in the many
faces of Hezbollah.

The Hezbollah is mostly popular in Lebanons south, which is for the most part populated
by Shiites and which is traditionally disadvantaged socio-economically. The Israeli invasions
only worsened the socio-economical conditions. The Hezbollah is still heavily armed which
is criticized not only by national political alliances like the March 14th coalition, but
also by the international com-munity. Even though the Taif agreement of 1989 called for
the disarmament of all Lebanese militias, Hezbollah was allowed to continue its resistance to
Israel which was still occupying Lebanons territory in the south.
There are a few reasons for Hezbollahs continued exis-tence as an armed group
mostly out of Lebanons state control. Firstly, its strategic relationship with Syria which had
considerable influence in Lebanon at that time and wanted to keep Lebanons Israel fronts
open. Secondly, its history as an armed militia and thirdly because of the necessity to regain
Lebanese territory. This was sup-ported by a large percentage of the society. Since then,
Hezbollahs military nature has evolved over time to a hybrid organization combining methods
of conventional and asymmetric warfare and in some ways its military capabilities now exceed
those of the Lebanese army.

THE HEZBOLLAH

Hezbollah presents itself as a force of resistance for Lebanon and the region.

Hezbollah - or the Party of God - is a powerful political and military organisation in

Lebanon made up mainly of Shia Muslims.
It emerged with financial backing from Iran in the early 1980s and began a struggle to
drive Israeli troops from Lebanon. Hostility to Israel has remained the party's defining platform
since May 2000, when the last Israeli troops left Lebanon due in large part to the success of
Hezbollah's military arm, the Islamic Resistance.
Hezbollah's popularity peaked in the 2000s, but took a massive dent among pro-Western
Lebanese people when it was at the centre of a huge, destructive war with Israel following the
capture of two Israeli soldiers in 2006.

Lebanese divisions

Hezbollah is the strongest member of Lebanon's pro-Syrian opposition bloc which has
been pitted against the pro-Western government led by Saad Hariri.
It has several seats in parliament and has ministers in a national unity government formed in
late 2009.
It also blocked the election of a new president by repeatedly boycotting sessions of
parliament. The stalemate ended on 21 May 2008, when the group reached a deal with the
government under which its power of veto was recognised. Washington has long branded
Hezbollah a terrorist organisation and has accused it of destabilising Lebanon in the wake of
Syria's withdrawal of its troops from the country following the assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The movement long operated with neighbouring Syria's blessing, protecting its interests
in Lebanon and serving as a card for Damascus to play in its own confrontation with Israel
over the occupation of the Golan Heights.
Hezbollah leaders have continued to profess its support for Syria, while stressing Lebanese
unity by arguing against "Western interference" in the country.
As well as a political clout, Hezbollah has wide popular appeal by providing social services
and health care. It also has an influential TV station, al-Manar. Hezbollah's biggest test came
in mid-2006, when its fighters captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack, killing a
number of others.

The incident triggered a fierce month-long war with Israel, which ended in a ceasefire.
Having survived a massive military onslaught, Hezbollah declared victory, enhancing its
reputation among many in the Arab world. Its critics, however, blamed it for provoking the
massive destruction which Israel wreaked in Lebanon.

Despite two UN resolutions (1559 passed in 2004, and 1701, which halted the war)
calling for disarming of militias in Lebanon, Hezbollah's military arm remains intact.

Starting out

Hezbollah was conceived in 1982 by a group of Muslim clerics after the Israeli invasion
of Lebanon.It was close to a contingent of some 2,000 Iranian Revolutionary guards, based in
Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which had been sent to the country to aid the resistance against
Israel.
Hezbollah was formed primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation.
It also initially dreamed of transforming Lebanon's multi-confessional state into an Iranian-
style Islamic state, although this idea was later abandoned in favour of a more inclusive
approach that has survived to this day.
The party's rhetoric calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. It views the Jewish
state as occupied Muslim land and it argues that Israel has no right to exist. The party was
long supported by Iran, which provided it with arms and money.

Passionate and demanding

Hezbollah also adopted the tactic of taking Western hostages, through a number of
freelance hostage taking cells.
In 1983, militants who went on to become members of Hezbollah are thought to have
planned a suicide bombing attack that killed 241 US marines in Beirut.
Hezbollah has always sought to further an Islamic way of life. In the early days, its leaders
imposed strict codes of Islamic behaviour on towns and villages in the south of the country - a
move that was not universally popular with the region's citizens.
But the party emphasises that its Islamic vision should not be interpreted as an intention
to impose an Islamic society on the Lebanese.