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IFES

Lebanon

Since 2005, IFES has been working in Lebanon to support the process of electoral reform in the run-up to parliamentary polls, scheduled for Sunday, June 7, 2009. 
 
IFES focused on providing advice and analysis to bolster civil society’s campaign for a new election law. This included supporting expert contributions to the work of the National Commission for Electoral Law (known as the Boutros Commission), the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform and the Administration and Justice Committee of the Lebanese Parliament.
 
Following adoption of a new election law by Parliament in September 2008, IFES provides technical assistance to the work of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, who are responsible for running the election process in Lebanon.  This includes supporting a range of training programs and the Ministry’s website for elections. IFES also initiated the Lebanon Election Violence Risk Assessment project (LEVRA) to review the security environment for elections.
 
In addition, IFES continues to support the work of civil society; promoting continued electoral reform in relation to an electoral system, a new law for municipal elections (scheduled for 2010) and improved participation in elections by persons with disabilities. Two sub-projects focus on raising awareness of electoral issues amongst young people. IFES also produces regular briefing papers on the Lebanese electoral process.
 
 
 
Current Projects
Compact for Election and Democratic Assistance and Reform (CEDAR) I

This project provides expertise and resources, collaboratively with the United Nations (UN), to facilitate discussion and establish and implement electoral reform agendas. Complemented by UN efforts to facilitate and inform the process of electoral reform, IFES deployed specialists who conducted capacity building activities, including workshops and seminars, for election administrators, parliamentarians, civil society organizations and NGOs who participate in the process of electoral reform and implementation. IFES also worked with local partner organizations to develop appropriate messages to inform the public of the electoral reform process.

Compact for Election and Democratic Assistance and Reform (CEDAR) II

Through a wide-range of initiatives, this project promotes sustainable electoral change in Lebanon ahead of the 2009 parliamentary election cycle. Building upon the work of the initial CEDAR project, the core objectives of the project consist of: (1) advising on the development of parliamentary election laws and municipal election laws; (2) strengthening capacity of election management bodies for the next parliamentary elections and (3) supporting civil society initiatives to ensure Lebanon’s elections meet international standards.

Support to the Electoral Process in Lebanon

IFES provides technical assistance to Lebanese authorities to support the performance of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in its conduct of the 2009 parliamentary elections and to prepare a solid foundation for the effective and sustainable transfer of responsibilities to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for the 2010 municipal elections and future elections. The program is based on a needs identification process within the MOI; undertaken by IFES since January 2008. This includes regular meetings with MOI staff, attendance of senior MOI officials at training events and a review of procedures for the administration of elections and voter registration.

Mapping the Risk of Election Related Conflict in Lebanon

This project addresses long-term structural causes of conflict, management of national and regional tension and violence, and support for post conflict reconstruction in Lebanon.  Specifically, the project aims to assist the Ministry of Interior in tracking the risk of election-related conflict in each electoral district in Lebanon. This would contribute to the development of effective security planning (with other security agencies and stakeholders) to mitigate such risks of election-related conflict during the campaign, polling and results phase of parliamentary elections that are expected to be held in June 2009.  This program receives support from support from the British Embassy.

Reforming the Legal Framework for Elections
IFES is working with members of Lebanese civil society and representatives of the government while the country debates the best way to reform its electoral law. [in Arabic]
  
Drafting a new electoral law
In 2005, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora created the National Election Law Reform Commission to draft a new electoral law for Lebanon. Headed by ex-Minister Fouad Boutros, the Commission’s members were lawyers, academics and civil society activists. IFES collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme to provide the Commission with technical advice and information about the electoral experiences of other countries.
 
After the Commission presented its draft electoral law to Prime Minister Siniora in June 2006, IFES conducted a comprehensive assessment of this draft law and participated in several workshops where key findings were presented.
 
Engaging public debate and educating citizens
Since the publication of the proposed law, IFES has been actively supporting the Civil Campaign for Election Reform (CCER), which seeks to initiate nonpartisan examination of the draft law to provide a basis for public debate. Specifically, IFES has assisted in the development of (1) a user-friendly manual explaining the draft law and (2) a web-based simulation that enables users to assess the impact of the proposed law by entering voting data and viewing results generated using the current voter registration figures and the proposed electoral system.
 
Recently, IFES has become involved in initiatives to educate secondary school and university students in issues of democratic governance. The Lebanese civil society organization Nahwa Al Mouataniya has asked IFES to help design secondary school curricula about proper political representation. For example, the programs will enable students to conduct elections using different electoral systems. At the university level, IFES has collaborated with academic institutions in the University Initiative for Electoral Reform in efforts to involve students in the debate over electoral reform.
 
As part of its efforts to increase understanding of electoral reform, IFES participates in conferences and conducts briefings on Lebanese electoral reform. Interested members of the CCER, academic institutions, political parties and diplomatic missions (as well as university students) have participated in such events to learn more about the reform process.
 
In Lebanon, IFES’ role remains to make its expertise available to all local players involved in the electoral reform process. This includes members of the government and parliament—who will be framing the debate by drafting the legal text—as well as civil society organizations (like the CCER) and the media.
More about IFES' elections work »

Past Projects in Lebanon »

For more information on IFES programs, please contact us.
Lebanon News and Materials
November 9, 2009
IFES News in Brief: Briefing Paper on the Composition of the new Lebanese Government
September 3, 2009
IFES News in Brief: Briefing Paper on Lebanon's Parliamentary Blocs
August 14, 2009
IFES News in Brief: IFES-Lebanon Presents the Alternatives to the Bloc Vote System
August 2009
White Paper/Report: Electoral System Options for Lebanese 2010 Elections (.pdf)
July 22, 2009
IFES.org Feature: IFES Publishes the First Study on the Impact of Public Funding on Muslim Democracies
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