The intended audience for following item is the Lebanese expat community.
It came to my attention today that the Lebanese Consulate Generals in the US and I hope other Lebanese Consulates all over the world are publicizing the procedure that needs to be followed by the Lebanese abroad who wish to exercise their right to vote during the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections.
The expat vote might turn out to be a token gesture only because of all the restrictions being placed on it, as we have predicted is going to be the case. Yet the right to vote will be available for those that live close t a Consulate or are willing to travel to a Consulate in time to cast their cherished vote.
Note that if you are to vote then you need to register in person at the consulate . For those that cannot make a personal appearance at a Consulate during regular business hours they can fill an application that needs to be notarized and then mail the form to the Consulate. If the plans do not change, and they are very highly unlikely to, then the actual vote must be in person at a Lebanese Consulate. But since there are only a limited number of such consulates then realistically how many of the expats are going to cast their vote? My guess not more than 50-70 thousand votes for the whole of Lebanon. This will end up being much ado about nothing. To offer the right without offering easy unencumbered access is like not offering the right in the first place.
Anyway, consider yourself informed of the proposed procedure and contact the closest Consulate to your place of residence or just log on to their web site. The following announcement is taken from the Lebanese Consulat General in NY NY.
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Memo to all Lebanese Citizens Residing in the U.S. Concerning their Vote in the Upcoming 2013 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections
إعلان الى جميع اللبنانيين المقيمين في الولايات المتحدة الأميركية حول المشاركة في الانتخابات النيابية القادمة عام 2013
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