Funded by the Ford Foundation, the LCPS has concluded a large-scale study on the local elections which took place in May and June 1998. Carried out by a designated team of 16 researchers, the study covers the run-up, the holding, and the aftermath of municipal elections in all the Lebanese regions.

The first part of the study covers the events and results of the municipal elections in Northern Mount-Lebanon, Southern Mount Lebanon, Beirut, the South, the North, and the Bekaa. The second part analyzes the sociological, legal, and political dimensions of the municipal and mayoral elections. Upon completion of their first preliminary work, researchers presented their chapters in a workshop in August 1998.

The research study was published in a book which complements LCPS' earlier work on municipalities and public administration. Entitled: The Lebanese Municipal Elections of 1998: The Travails of Democracy Within the Structures of Local Communities, the book covers all the regional results of the elections, and includes chapters on:

• The Municipal Elections of 1963
• The Role of Women in the Elections
• Election Infractions and Fraud
• The Factors Influencing the Making of Public Opinion and their Role in Determining Voters Behavior
• The role of Islamic Movements in the Elections
• The Role of Civil Society organizations in the Municipal Elections
• The State Council and Appeals