The national conference, entitled "Electoral Law Tailored for the Nation," consisted of three sessions that jointly covered all aspects of the highly debated parliamentary electoral law.
On behalf of President Michel Suleiman, Justice Minister Charles Rizk read a speech that expanded on Suleiman's inaugural speech. Ziad Baroud, a prominent lawyer and NCEL member, mediated the panels. Baroud was representing former Minister Fouad Butrous, who heads the commission.
UNDP Resident Representative Marta Ruedas summarized the main concerns of and around the Butrous draft law.
The "contentious issue of electoral districting was agreed upon in the recent Doha agreement," Ruedas said. "However, key reforms are still awaiting a parliamentary discussion of the draft law submitted by the National Commission on Electoral Law Reform."
While the Doha agreement has observably shaped the electoral landscape for the 2009 parliamentary elections, debates on major issues still spark heated disputes.
All participants called for reforms in seven major areas:
1) Lowering the voting age to 18
2) The "modernization" of the voting procedure by introducing ballot papers and holding elections on one day
3) The need for neutral administrative and managerial bodies for the elections
4) Regulations of the media, including campaigns and news, and of campaign financing
5) Increased participation and representation of women
6) Equal participation rights and possibilities for people with disabilities
7) Granting Lebanese expatriates the right to vote
The need for an independent electoral commission, campaign spending and media control, and an automated election was presented by Baroud, MPs Antoine Haddad, Ghassan Mokheiber, Dr. Ali Fayad of the Consultation Center for Studies and Documentation, and Dr. Khalil Gebara, Executive Director of the LTA.
Minority voting, the woman quota, lowering the voting age, voting outside of Lebanon, and the vote of disabled persons was discussed by a separate panel, led by Dr. Arda Ekmekji of the NCEL. Ekmeji was joined by LADE Secretary General Ziad Abdel Samad, Guita Hourani of NDU's Emigration Research Center, Sylvia Lakkis of the Handicapped Association, and Dr. Fahmiyah Charafeddine, Vice President of the National Committee for Follow-up on Women's Issues.
Electoral constituencies and the voting system were discussed in the context of overall democracy in Lebanon in the third and final panel, which joined Dr. Paul Salem of the NCEL with MPs Robert Ghanem, Samir Franjieh and Ali Hassan Khalil.
