Is sectarian strife in Mideast dimming Lebanon's 'beacon of democracy'?
Beirut Lebanese lawmakers voted Wednesday to extend their parliamentary mandate for a second time, citing the difficult security climate in the country and spillover from the war ravaging neighboring Syria.
The parliamentary extension to June 2017 a total of eight years in power underlines Lebanons nervousness over the political and sectarian violence sweeping Syria and Iraq.
On top of the postponed parliamentary elections, Lebanon has a presidential vacuum: Lawmakers have repeatedly failed to convene in sufficient numbers to elect a new head of state. The presidential palace in the hills above Beirut has been vacant since May, the end of President Michel Suleiman's six-year term.
Lebanon is often hailed as a rare beacon of democracy in the Arab world, but it is a dysfunctional democracy at best. Since 2005, when Syria removed its steely grip from the country, Lebanon has stumbled from one political crisis to another; paralysis and deadlock are becoming the norm.
The last time Lebanese citizens were allowed to hold a parliamentary vote was in 2009 when 128 lawmakers were elected for the customary four-year term. However, in May 2013, parliament decided to extend its mandate for 17 months because lawmakers said that insecurity made it impossible to hold a nationwide poll on time.
Under the constitution, once parliamentary elections are held, the serving government moves into a caretaker capacity pending the naming of a new prime minister and the formation of a new cabinet. The president appoints prime ministers following consultations with the elected lawmakers. However, with no president in power, holding elections at this time threatened a constitutional deadlock and governmental paralysis.
On the other hand, some politicians believe that the results of a new parliamentary election could hasten a vote for a president, which in turn would permit the constitutional appointment of a new prime minister and government.
Two Christian political parties, including the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the largest Christian party, boycotted Tuesday's vote to extend parliament.
Holding elections could have been a solution to the presidential election and not vice versa, said Gibran Bassil, the Lebanese foreign minister and a leading figure in the FPM.
Under Lebanons power-sharing formula, the presidency is restricted to Maronite Catholics. So far, the two main rival political blocks have rejected each others candidates and have been unable to agree on a consensus figure.
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Is sectarian strife in Mideast dimming Lebanon's 'beacon of democracy'?