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On Sunday, dozens of civic groups and former opposition parties announced a unified program to establish a new political system in Lebanon and rejected the new candidate for prime minister, Mustapha Adib, who is currently ambassador to Germany. Speakers who read the group’s statement at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut said that the ruling class “had insisted on reproducing itself despite losing popular legitimacy” and blamed “greed” for the many deep problems facing the country. of the political system.
Since widespread protests broke out in October 2019, opposition groups had struggled to find a common goal and project unity. “For a long time they were lost,” Zeinab Mirza, a political scientist at the American University of Beirut, told DW. “That is why they had no voice. So this is a very important document.”
The key to the groups’ demands is a reduced transitional government with a clear timetable to abolish Lebanon’s sectarian system and a rejection of any cabinet formed under the status quo. Current laws divide key political positions among the country’s major religions, but many see it as a corrupt setup that channels patronage and influence.
Read more: Murder verdict complicates aftermath of Beirut explosion
‘We are ready’
Former Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned on August 10 amid national fury after the August 4 explosion in Beirut. Opposition groups have been meeting intensively since the explosion to draw up a list of figures who could form a competent and independent transitional government.
Read more: Lebanon’s worst enemy is its own government, writes a DW editor
“We have names,” Hassan Sinno, a member of the opposition movement Massirat Watan, told AFP news agency. “We are ready.”
The declaration document includes 58 detailed political goals, ranging from obtaining compensation and justice for the blast victims to getting rid of sect-based electoral laws and formalizing the independence of the judiciary. Amin Qamourieh, political analyst and columnist for the Lebanese daily An-Nahar, He told DW that the initiative, which brings together a wide range of groups with a powerful common vision, is the movement’s most significant achievement.
“The announcement represents the basic level of understanding that is needed to end the chaos that is being exploited by those in power, as well as foreign forces who say they will adopt reforms but are only looking for their own interests,” said Qamourieh .
Read more: Will the protests after the Beirut explosion bring reforms to Lebanon?
Change is possible …
The coalition is not the only one calling for changing the way things are done in Lebanon, but analysts say the group, at least initially, will have to work within the existing system. “Young people in the movement realize that attempts to uproot sectarianism and outside influence are very difficult,” Qamourieh said, “so they initially seek to make progress, such as running for elections with unified groups that allow new voices to come through. to Parliament to allow invoices to be submitted.
Due to the depth of anger felt in Lebanon after the explosion, the political will exists to comply with some of the demands, Mirza said, but it will be difficult to reform the confessional system. An independent national investigation into the blast, a progressive tax system, transparent tenders for government contracts and housing for people affected by the blast are possible, he added. However, they would require accepting a new government with some technocratic and political experience.
“This is not nuclear science,” Mirza said. “But abolishing the sectarian system is not that easy,” he added. “It can and should be done, but now we have more pressing priorities.”
Read more: Lebanon hires diplomat Mustapha Adib to lead a new government
… and very hard
On Monday, the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, said that “there must be a change in this confessional system, which is the cause of all evil.” On Sunday, President Michel Aoun called for the proclamation of a secular state and recognized the need to “change the system.”
Aoun’s ally, Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, had said early Sunday that he was open to French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a new political pact, provided the Lebanese factions agree. Days before heading to Beirut to celebrate Lebanon’s centennial as a country on Monday, Macron had warned that the nation could “disappear” without swift action from those in power.
Macron’s two-page “concept paper” outlines the changes needed to unlock foreign aid, such as an audit of the central bank and the installation of an interim government capable of implementing his proposals and calling early elections. France, the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran have long influenced Lebanese politics by supporting their preferred leaders and factions.
But Qamourieh said foreign powers had only sought to maintain the status quo in Lebanon. “These forces are looking for a possible formula for the continuation of sectarianism that serves their interests,” he said.
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