I went to Lebanon for the Parliament election, and yes we paid for our own tickets. I know that may sound funny to some that are reading this, but the fact is if your vote was needed in certain towns in Lebanon. You could get your ticket paid for, and have all expenses paided for one week. For people that already lived in those towns you could get 2,000.00 dollars for your vote, or the same amount in other areas if you would stay at home, and not vote.
People by the thousands were flown in from all over the world to vote, these were mostly Sunni Muslims voting for the Hariri ticket. Planes flying out of Saudi Arabia would be mostly empty if they were Shiite Muslims because Shiite Muslims could not find a seat on a plain out of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was the biggest backer of the election. As people would tell me that this was the first true election in the history of Lebanon, I would be quick to point out that no it is not. While in the past Syria controlled the elections in Lebanon, and they would take the ballot box’s, and replace them with box’s that had the votes for the person they wanted in that area to win. Saudi Arabia has done it one better, by bring in bags of money, and handing it out for votes, so no it was not a true election. In the end another country picked your Parliament not the Lebanese people. You the people of Lebanon did not have a fair election, you did not get to pick your own leaders, and this I am sorry to say is your fault.
I understand that some of you had to travel many miles to get to your area to vote, and that in itself is something else I want to talk about, so if you were asking for a ride to your polling place that I can not begrudge you. For those of you who stayed at home on election day, because the party you supported did not come by, and drop a couple of thousand dollars in your lap shame on you. To those who stayed at home at the last minute because you got payed to do so you are what is wrong with Lebanon. When your vote was needed, and you could have made a difference for a candidate you got bought.
Until you the people of Lebanon can stand, and say before anything else I am Lebanese, not I am Christian, or I am Muslim, or to make matters even worse I am Orthodox, or Catholic, and I am Shiite, or Sunni Muslim. You are all Lebanese people from the country of Lebanon before you are any of those things. Be proud of that fact, have respect for that, all of these things should come under your flag you should always be Lebanese first, and that all comes in a distant second.
The people of Lebanon are registered to vote in the town that they were born in, and until they move their registrations that is where they have to vote. Now the Hariri camp was smart about this they had thousands of their supporters move their registration to the area that they lived in. Let me explain further lets say you were born in Los Angeles, but now lived in San Fransisco, you would have to drive to Los Angeles on election day to vote, not San Fransisco.
You can move this to the town you live in, and the Hariri camp did this. Lets take Beirut as an example from what I could gather you have Beirut district 1, 2, and 3. There are many Shiite Muslims that live in these area, but they left Beirut to go, and vote out of town in many small villages where their vote was not needed, they voted in towns that there was no opposition. On the other hand Hariri had many people in those districts bring there registration from those small towns to vote.
The way the election is run in Lebanon has to change, in America we have some similar problem’s because the one with the most money wins, in most cases, but nothing said that more then the election in Lebanon, the winner of the election there did not win because they were loved by the people, they won because they paid the people more to love them.
Across the board every party paid for votes, there were thousands of people that did not get paid for their vote yes that is true. The money has to be taken out of this process or Lebanon will never have a fair election. Lebanon did not erupt into open gun battles on the streets as many feared, it was very peaceful, and safe I did not at any time feel that something bad was going to happen. This the Lebanese people can be very very proud of they showed the whole world that there is another democracy besides Israel in the middle east. The fact that all of Lebanon voted on the same day for the first time in its history is another huge step.
The election laws in Lebanon must change, and the people of Lebanon are the ones that should lead this charge for change, you are the ones who are paying the price for this by getting corrupt, and substandard leaders, leaders that forget about you the minute that they reach the seat. When the money runs out they do not come around, and give you more. Then what? how are you going to make the Parliament members you voted for answer to you the voter, if he or she knows that they can buy your support the next time around no matter what they do or do not do for you.
So Lebanese people you have had a so so start, and you have some bumps in the road, but you can stand up, and say I can not be bought. Next time around, and I will go back for the next election I would like you to start from now put it in your heads to have a campaign that says we are Lebanese first, and we are not for sell. OUR VOTES ARE NOT FOR SELL FOR ANY PRICE.
Just a thought would like to hear what you have to say.
