Lebanon

Flag Description

Three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centred in the white band.

Election type: Parliamentary

Election dates: 29 May and 12 June 2005 (last held 27 August and 3 September 2000)

Number of registered voters: 2 577 257 (as at 1996)

Compulsory voting: Yes

Government

Type: Parliamentary republic. (Confessional i.e. based on religious affiliation)

Chief of State: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998). On 3 September 2004, the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile Lahud's six-year term by three years.

Party in Government: not applicable. Seats are by sect. Muslim—64 (of which Sunnis 27; Shia 27; Druze 8; Alawite 2); Christian—64 (of which Maronite Catholic, 34).

Head of Government: Prime Minister Najib MIKATI (since 19 April 2005)

Branches: Executive—President (chief of state, elected by simple majority of Parliament for a 6-year term), Council of Ministers (appointed). The Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister are appointed by the President in consultation with the National Assembly. By agreement, the President is a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim.

Legislative—a unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic).The 128-member Chamber of Deputies is elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation for a four-year term.

Judicial—secular and religious courts with a combination of Ottoman, civil, and canon law. There is limited judicial review of legislative acts.

Political parties: Organized along sectarian lines around individuals whose followers are motivated primarily by religious, clan, and ethnic considerations.

Suffrage: Compulsory for all males at 21. Authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education.

The election was announced a day after Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon. The voting at this election was the first in thirty-three years without a Syrian military presence.

Questions about the end of Syria’s involvement in Lebanon, the state of Lebanese democracy and the role of Hezbollah are all addressed in the light of the forthcoming Lebanese elections, in this BBC News article of 25 April 2005, entitled Q&A: Syria and Lebanon. 

A Council on Foreign Relations article entitled Lebanon: Election Results dated 20 June 2005 covers election results, the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the parties which won seats, international election observers, the balance of power in the National Assembly, the role of ethnic and religious groups, the presence of Syrian troops and background to the war.

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Last reviewed 22 September, 2005 by the Parliamentary Library Web Manager
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