Lebanon's First Postwar Elections: Facts, Figures, and Analysis, Farid el-Khazen and Paul Salem, (eds.), published jointly with Dar Al-Nahar, 1993. (in Arabic)

Fair and free elections are the cornerstone of any democracy. They express the will of the people, bring new political elites to the fore, and renew the authority of government. However, elections are rarely a simple and non-controversial affair.

Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon in 1992 after a hiatus of 20 years amid protestations of support for and opposition. In this climate, the LCPS led a detailed, comprehensive, and objective study of the pre-election, election, and post-election process.

The study involved a number of scholars and researchers and comprised workshops, conferences, interviews, data analysis, and other forms of research. It resulted in the publication of a 600-page book on the parliamentary elections--perhaps the first of its kind in Lebanon and the Arab world--replete with maps, graphs, and detailed election tables.

This study stands as a commitment to an objective and constructive approach to democratization in the conviction that democracy cannot be achieved overnight but is a process to which all citizens and institutions must contribute. The study was completed in 1993 with support from the Ford Foundation, and forms the cornerstone of LCPS' s work in electoral affairs.

Chapter One: The First Post-War Parliamentary Elections in Lebanon: Bulwarks of the New Democracy