Election monitoring in Lebanon is something easier said than done. In mid-March, an independent election-monitoring association, the Lebanese Association for the Democracy of Elections (LADE), was established in Beirut.[8] The association formally announced its creation in May, and sought recognition from the interior ministry. The ministry, however, refused to grant it.
According to Lebanese law, an association is merely required to inform the government of its establishment. This procedure, known as `ilm wa-khabar, involves presenting specific legal documents to the interior ministry. Once these are presented, the association can, in principle, begin functioning without prior approval by the government. However, the Hariri government has reinterpreted the law on associations in such a way that prior approval is now required. Many lawyers have protested that this contradicts the law.
In the case of LADE, employees at the ministry of the interior refused to accept the association's founding documents. Because of this, the ministry has argued that the association is illegal. While this has not prevented association members from meeting and planning future action, there remains uncertainty as to how the interior ministry will react once the association begins its monitoring role.
In March, the association elected a twelve-member Executive Committee. Laure Mughayzil, a lawyer and women's rights activist, was elected secretary-general However, soon afterwards Mrs. Mughayzil resigned from her post in accordance with the association's rules that members of the Executive Committee cannot be candidates for parliamentary seats or directly involved in election campaigns: Mrs. Mughayzil's son, Fady, is expected to stand for the Greek Catholic seat in Beirut. As a result, Paul Salem, the director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, became secretary-general. He, in turn, was succeeded by Nawaf Salam as deputy secretary-general. No elections were held to replace Mrs. Mughayzil, and the committee now has eleven members.
The relationship between LADE and the government has become much more of a political issue, and has gone beyond merely supervising the electoral process. The minister of the interior, Michel al-Murr, has publicly expressed irritation with the association, and has apparently seen its mere existence as an effort to challenge the government's integrity. Several parliamentarians and other government ministers have expressed support for LADE's efforts, although it is not clear whether this will lead to a change in the interior ministry's attitude towards the association.
Footnote:
8. See the Lebanon Report, No. 1, Spring 1996, page 12.