4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2020 Lebanon 44 PARTLY FREE /100 Political Rights 14 /40 Civil Liberties 30 /60 LAST YEAR'S SCORE & STATUS 45 /100 Partly Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 1/20 4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House Overview Lebanon’s political system ensures representation for its many sectarian communities, but suppresses intracommunity competition and impedes the rise of cross-sectarian or secularist parties. Residents enjoy some civil liberties and media pluralism, but grapple with the government’s inability to address pervasive corruption and inconsistent support for the rule of law. Lebanon has also struggled to support the refugees who make up over a quarter of its population, with refugees from Syria facing especially difficult circumstances as they face unemployment, restrictions on movement, and the risk of refoulement. Key Developments in 2019 Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned at the end of October, in the wake of massive antigovernment protests that erupted earlier that month when the government proposed an increase in the value-added tax (VAT) and implemented a new fee for mobile messaging services. The movement was marked by violent clashes between protesters and security forces resulting in dozens of injuries. The government introduced strict new curfews limiting the movement of Syrian refugees, as well as a stringent permit system restricting their access to employment. In May, authorities deported nearly 3,000 refugees, despite concerns that they could be detained and tortured in Syria. Political Rights A. Electoral Process A1 0-4 pts Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 1 / 4 https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 2/20 4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House The president, who is elected to a six-year term by the parliament, appoints the prime minister after consulting with the parliament. The president and prime minister choose the cabinet, which holds most formal executive power. According to long- standing de facto agreements on sectarian power-sharing, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the National Assembly must be a Shiite Muslim. Recently, the presidency was vacant for two years due to a lack of political consensus on a successor to Michel Suleiman, whose term expired in 2014. In October 2016, lawmakers finally elected former military commander Michel Aoun as president, who nominated Saad Hariri as prime minister that November. The parliament approved Hariri’s unity cabinet, which included representatives of most major factions, the following month. While this ended the country’s long deadlock, these decisions were carried out by a parliament whose electoral mandate had expired in 2013, undermining their democratic legitimacy. Aoun named Hariri to the premiership again shortly after the 2018 parliamentary elections, and a new cabinet was formed in January 2019. Hariri resigned in October, after widespread anticorruption protests swept the country. In December, Aoun named Hassan Diab, a former education minister and a vice president at the American University of Beirut (AUB), to succeed Hariri. Diab was still negotiating to finalize his government’s formation at the end of 2019. A2 0-4 pts Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? 2 / 4 Parliamentary elections were originally due in 2013, but disagreement over electoral reforms led the parliament to extend its own term until late 2014. Citing security concerns associated with the Syrian conflict, lawmakers in 2014 extended their mandate again, this time until June 2017. That month, the parliament adopted a new electoral law that introduced proportional representation and preferential voting, and scheduled elections for May 2018. Lebanese citizens then voted for the 128- https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 3/20 4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House member National Assembly for the first time since 2009—ending the five-year period in which the incumbent legislature had operated with no electoral mandate. The May 2018 election saw Hezbollah maintain its National Assembly seats, while its allies posted gains. Christian parties also gained seats, mainly at the expense of Saad Hariri and the Future Movement party he led. Although the elections were conducted peacefully and were free and fair in many respects, vote buying was rampant and the electoral framework retained a number of fundamental structural flaws linked to the sectarian political system. Turnout was less than 50 percent, and was even lower in some Sunni areas of Beirut, reflecting an apparent lack of confidence in Hariri among many Sunni voters. A3 0-4 pts Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant election management bodies? 2 / 4 Elections in Lebanon are overseen by the Interior Ministry rather than an independent electoral commission. Parliamentary seats are divided among major sects under a constitutional formula that does not reflect their current demographic weight. No official census has been conducted since the 1930s. The electoral framework is somewhat inclusive and supports pluralism, but it is the product of bargaining among established leaders and tends to entrench the existing sectarian and communalist political system. The 2017 electoral law introduced proportional representation and preferential voting, and improved opportunities for diaspora voting. However, the districts were still drawn along communal lines, with most featuring a strong confessional majority. Meanwhile, the mechanisms for seat allocation favor incumbent parties. The 2017 law sharply raised registration fees for candidates as well as spending caps for campaigns, and allowed private organizations and foundations to promote coalitions and candidates, which increased advantages accorded to wealthier groups and individuals. As under past electoral laws, members of security services, and citizens who have been naturalized for less than 10 years, cannot participate in elections. https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 4/20 4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House B. Political Pluralism and Participation B1 0-4 pts Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system free of undue obstacles to the rise and fall of these competing parties or 3 / 4 groupings? Citizens are free to organize in different political groupings, and the system features a variety of competing parties in practice. While parties do rise and fall to some extent based on their performance and voters’ preferences, most of Lebanon’s political parties are vehicles for an established set of communal leaders who benefit from patronage networks, greater access to financing, and other advantages of incumbency. B2 0-4 pts Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? 1 / 4 Lebanese politics are largely dominated by a group of military veterans, former militia leaders, and power brokers who gained prominence during the 1975–90 civil war that engulfed the country. Under the country’s prevailing power-sharing system, these parties do not consistently behave as opposition groups; consolidation of power among political elites also hampers intraparty competition. The National Assembly introduced a new electoral system in 2017 that included proportional representation, reduced the number of seats, and lessened the sectarian nature of Lebanese elections. Nevertheless, the political parties and alliances that existed before this reform have maintained their positions. B3 0-4 pts https://freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 5/20 4/8/2020 Lebanon | Freedom House Are the people’s political choices free from domination by forces that are external to the political sphere, or by political forces that employ 1 / 4 extrapolitical means? A variety of forces that are not democratically accountable—including entrenched patronage networks, religious institutions, armed nonstate actors such as Hezbollah, and competing foreign powers—use a combination of financial incentives and intimidation to exert influence on Lebanese voters and political figures. The 2018 elections saw a number of credible allegations of vote buying, as well as analyses pointing to the role of establishment parties’ patronage networks in mobilizing or incentivizing voters. B4 0-4 pts Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, religious, gender, LGBT, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and electoral 2 / 4 opportunities? Lebanon officially recognizes 18 religious communities, and the political system ensures that nearly all of these groups are represented, though not according to their actual shares of the population. Individuals who are not or do not wish to be affiliated with the recognized groups are effectively excluded. Moreover, the country’s large refugee population, including Palestinian refugee camp residents and Syrians who fled their country’s civil war, are not eligible to acquire citizenship and have no political rights. Women have many of the same political rights as men, but they are marginalized in practice due to religious restrictions, institutionalized inequality, political