Info

Lebanon

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Boundary Delimitation

BD001

Delimitation of constituencies

Question:	Are constituencies delimited for election purposes?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 2
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 2 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/05/05

BD003

Criteria for drawing boundaries

Question:	On what criteria are the boundaries drawn?
Answer(s):	d. Conformity with local jurisdiction boundaries f. Communities of interest/cultural concerns g. Other
Comments:	g.) religious concerns.
Source:	Constitution, Article 24 (1)& (2). Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/05/05

BD005

Body responsible for drawing boundaries

Question:	The body responsible for drawing the boundaries is:
Answer(s):	a. Legislature (1st chamber)
Comments:	Chamber of Deputies (Parliament)
Source:	Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Electoral Systems

ES001

Head of State

Question:	How is the Head of State selected?
Answer(s):	h. Other
Comments:	Secret Ballot. Elected By Secret ballot and by a two-thirds majority of the chamber of Deputies, But After the first ballot, a simple majority is sufficient.
Source:	Constitution, chapter 4, Art. 49 Updated on March 3, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

ES002

Head of Government

Question:	How is the Head of Government selected?
Answer:	e. Appointed
Comments:	the president of the republic appoint the prime minister but after binding parliamentary consultation
Source:	Constitution, Chapter 3, Article 53 LADE: Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections Updated on March 3, 2008.
Verified:	2008/04/22

ES003

President

Question:	Does the country have a president?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:	The President of the Republic is the bead of the state.
Source:	Constitution, chapter 4, Art. 49 Updated on March 3, 2008.
Verified:	2008/04/22

ES004

Number of Chambers

Question:	The national legislature consists of (one/two chambers):
Answer:	a. One chamber
Comments:	Legislative power is vested in a single body, the Chamber of Deputies. The Ta’ef Agreement 1989 states that there should be two chambers but has not been implemented till now
Source:	Constitution, Chapter 1, Article 16. LADE: Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections Updated on March 3, 2008.
Verified:	2008/04/22

ES005

Electoral System (Chamber 1)

Question:	What is the electoral system for Chamber 1 of the national legislature?
Answer(s):	c. Block Vote
Comments:	Voting shall be general (universal suffrage), through secret ballots and direct.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 5. Updated on March 4, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Legislative Framework

LF001

Status of Electoral Law

Question:	What is the status of the electoral law governing national elections?
Answer(s):	b. Separate legislation
Comments:	The Chamber of Deputies shall be composed of elected members; their number and the method of their election shall be determined by the electoral laws in effect
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 24. Updated on March 4, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

LF003

Electoral Law covers

Question:	The national electoral law covers:
Answer(s):	a. National elections
Comments:	local elections are covered by another law, the municipal
Source:	LADE Updated on March 4, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

LF004

Compulsory/voluntary voting

Question:	Is voting on the national level voluntary or compulsory?
Answer(s):	a. Voting is voluntary
Comments:	It is not mentioned in the law.
Source:	International IDEA Voter Turnout Website http://www.idea.int/vt/compulsory_voting.cfm Updated March 4, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

LF007

Electoral Disputes Agency(ies)

Question:	What are the agency(ies) responsible for the first level of formal electoral disputes?
Answer(s):	c. Specially Appointed/Elected Electoral Tribunal
Comments:	In each electoral constituency one or more registration committee shall be formed and, contrary to any other provision.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 15 & 16. Updated on March 4, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Electoral Management

EM001

Please provide the following contact information for the national electoral management body:

Name of Institution: Ministry of Interior 
Website Address: www.moim.gov.lb	

Source

No Source

Verified

2009/11/05

(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)

EM002

Responsibility of national EMB

Question:	Does the national electoral body have the responsibility for elections at:
Answer(s):	a. National level c. Local level
Comments:	The elections are managed and administered by the Ministry of Interior, no electoral management body is present,so the Ministry of Interior is responsible of both municipal and parliamentary elections
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 60 LADE Updated on May 5, 2008
Verified:	2008/05/05

EM004

EMB budget determined by

Question:	The budget of the national electoral management body is determined by:
Answer(s):	c. The legislature
Comments:	The Council of Ministers prepares a draft of the budget that the legislative power has to approve.
Source:	Constitution, Articles 83 and 88
Verified:	2008/05/05

EM005

EMB expenditures controlled by

Question:	The expenditures of the national electoral management body are controlled by:
Answer(s):	c. The legislature
Comments:
Source:	Constitution, Article 87
Verified:	2008/05/05

EM006

Term of EMB members

Question:	The term of the members of the national electoral management body is:
Answer:	a. For the election period only
Comments:	The Minister of Interior is appointed. He/she is member of the government, so the term is the same as his/her membership in the government and he/she is assigned the mission of the head of national electoral management body.
Source:
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Voter Education

VE001

Information campaigns performed by

Question:	Who conducts information campaigns for national elections (informing where, when and how to register and/or vote)?
Answer(s):	d. National Government g. NGOs/ Civic Organizations h. Political parties/ candidates i. Media j. Religious Institutions
Comments:	Ministry of Interior as the EMB. Besides the official announcements and the media, political parties and candidates as well as civic organizations conduct their own campaigns to educate voters.
Source:	Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE). Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VE002

Frequency of voter education programs

Question:	At the national level, how often are voter education programs conducted?
Answer:	b. Election time only
Comments:	Programs are mostly conducted during election time, except those of the NGOs working with youth and women's participation, such as LADE.
Source:	LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VE003

National civic education

Question:	Is there a national civic education campaign (rights and responsibilities of citizens)?
Answer(s):	e. Yes, conducted by the Government h. Yes, conducted by NGOs/ Civic Organizations
Comments:	Neither the Government nor the NGOS are obliged to it
Source:	LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Voter Registration

VR001

Voting age

Question:	What is the legal voting age in the national elections?
Answer:
Comments:	21 Years old
Source:	Constitution, Article 21 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VR002

Other voting requirements

Question:	Beyond age, what other qualifications exist for registering to vote and voting in the national elections?
Answer(s):	a. Citizenship e. Other
Comments:	Other: Mental Capacity, Bankruptcy, Juridical Sanction
Source:	Electoral law, Art. 9 LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VR004

Body responsible for voter registration

Question:	Which is the authority responsible for the registration of voters for national elections?
Answer:	a. Central Government Department (specify)
Comments:	Central Government: Ministry of Interior with the collaboration of the local and regional representatives in addition to the civic records
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, LADE law no. 171. Articles 15 & 24 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VR008

Compulsory voter registration

Question:	Is it compulsory to be on the voters register?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:	Registration in the voters’ lists/rolls is mandatory; no one is allowed to be registered in more than one list.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 11 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Voting Operations

VO003

Electors vote at

Question:	Where can electors vote?
Answer(s):	a. At a specified polling station in the locality where they are registered at national elections
Comments:
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 40 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VO004

Voting outside the country is permitted for

Question:	Who can vote from outside the country?
Answer(s):	a. Outside the country voting is not permitted
Comments:	OCV is not applicable, but it is no “not permitted:, since there is no restriction on the ministry of interior on assigning polling stations outside Lebanon but it does not , so basically it is not applicable
Source:	LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

VO005

Locations for voting outside of the country

Question:	If voting outside the country is permitted, at what places?
Answer(s):	g. No information available
Comments:
Source:	Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/03/09

VO011

Voting method

Question:	How do electors cast their votes?
Answer(s):	a. Manually marking of ballots
Comments:	There is no pre-printed ballot in Lebanon, so each voter can write the names of the candidates on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope and then in the ballot box.
Source:	Electoral law 47 Updated on April 22, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Parties and Candidates

PC001

Registration requirements for parties (Chamber 1)

Question:	What are the registration requirements for political parties running for national elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):	b. Deposit requirement (specify amount) c. Regional distribution requirement
Comments:	The candidate should deposit in the State Treasury an amount of 10,000,000 LBP = 6,666.66 USD, on an individual basis. Any one can run for post, being a member in a political party is not a necessity
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 35 LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

PC003

Registration requirements for candidates (Chamber 1)

Question:	What are the legal qualifications to become a candidate at legislative elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):	a. Age b. Citizenship f. Registration i. Minimum level of literacy j. Other
Comments:	To be elected member of the House of Representatives, the candidate must be Lebanese registered in the voters list, having attained the age of twenty five years, enjoying his civil and political rights and educated. Naturalized Lebanese individuals are eligible only after ten years of acquiring the nationality.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 6 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

PC008

Independent candidates

Question:	Can independent candidates compete in presidential or legislative elections?
Answer(s):	e. In both presidential and legislative elections
Comments:	The majority of candidates are independent local leaders, party representation does not exceed 30%.
Source:	LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

PC012

Public funding of parties

Question:	Do political parties receive direct/indirect public funding?
Answer(s):	a. No
Comments:	There is no law regulating the finance of the political parties
Source:	LADE Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

PC015

Basis of public funding

Question:	What is the basis of the public funding?
Answer(s):	f. No information available
Comments:
Source:	Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/03/09

PC017

Private funding of parties

Question:	Are political parties entitled to private funding?
Answer:	a. Yes
Comments:	Most of the political parties are funded by its members and primary but their presidents or by organizations and firms owned even partially bu the parties.
Source:	LADE Updated on April 22, 2008
Verified:	2008/04/22

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Vote Counting

VC004

Voters are sorted/counted at

Question:	Following the close of the voting, where are the votes first sorted and counted?
Answer:	a. The polling stations
Comments:	After counting and examining the ballot papers, the head of the polling station shall announce the provisional voting results and shall immediately post the announcement including these results on the door of the polling station and shall give to each of the candidates and their delegates, upon request, a certified copy of the original announcement.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 57 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2009/11/04

VC011

Conditions for recount

Question:	Under what conditions are ballots recounted?
Answer(s):	a. Never recounted
Comments:	After announcing the results, all ballot papers and envelopes, with the exception of those which should be attached to the report, shall be burnt.
Source:	Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 57 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2009/11/04

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Media and Elections

ME037

Parties receive free broadcast time based on

Question:	What are the criteria for allocating free broadcast time and/or free printed advertisement space to political parties?
Answer(s):	h. No information available
Comments:	The current electoral law does not have media regulation
Source:	LADE Election of the Members of the House of Representatives, law no. 171. Article 68 Updated on March 9, 2008
Verified:	2008/05/05

ME059

Existence of televised debates

Question:	Are televised debates between candidates or party representatives normally conducted?
Answer(s):	a. Yes, in presidential elections b. Yes, in legislative elections
Comments:	The debates are not directly conducted but rather through talk shows hosting the candidates so there will be a space for debate but nobody is obkiged to conduct such debates
Source:	LADE
Verified:	2008/04/22

ME062

Blackout period for opinion polls

Question:	What is the blackout period, if any, during which results of pre-election opinion polls may not be released to the public?
Answer:	a. 1 day
Comments:	Even though it is mentioned in the law but there is no clear restriction
Source:	LADE
Verified:	2008/05/05

ME080

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Direct Democracy

DD002

DD003

DD004

DD005

DD006

DD007

DD129

DD130

DD131