Lebanon’s Presidential Election Process, Explained

The method of electing a president in Lebanon could seem a bit sophisticated, however it’s really fairly simple when you perceive the fundamentals. Let’s break it down:

First off, that you must know that the president is elected by the parliament, not by most people. That is totally different from another international locations the place residents immediately vote for his or her president.

The election takes place in two rounds:

First Spherical of Election

Within the first spherical, a candidate must win the votes of two-thirds of the parliament to be declared president.

Meaning, out of the 128 members within the parliament, a candidate should safe a minimum of 86 votes to win outright within the first spherical.

Second Spherical of Election

If no candidate will get the mandatory votes within the first spherical, the election proceeds to a second spherical. On this spherical, the bar is barely decrease.

A candidate can win with simply 65 votes, which is simply over half of the parliament members. Nonetheless, there’s a catch.

Two-thirds of the parliament members (that’s 86 members) must be current for this vote to happen.

However what if not sufficient members present up?

Right here’s the place the method can get a bit difficult.

If a political group senses that their candidate is more likely to lose within the second spherical, they may resolve to not attend the vote.

See additionally

This technique might deprive the second spherical of the mandatory quorum (the minimal variety of members that should be current to make the proceedings of the assembly legitimate).

If this occurs, the spherical can be inconclusive, and the election must be rescheduled.

Whereas the presidential election course of in Lebanon includes a little bit of technique and political maneuvering, the core guidelines are fairly easy: win the help of two-thirds of parliament within the first spherical, or win greater than half the votes within the second spherical, offered sufficient members are current.

Understanding these guidelines helps us make sense of the outcomes and the techniques utilized by totally different political teams throughout these essential elections.