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To emphasize on the necessity of
adopting uniform o cial ballot
papers
to limit the pratice of vote
buying,
which is thought to be
rampant
in Lebanon! At present
there are no
standardized pre-printed
ballot forms available in any governorate, which exposes the system to practices that prevent free and fair elections.
To share information and understanding on how proper electoral processes are managed in
other nations as a call for reform to the current system in Lebanon prior to any future
election.
To raise awareness on the importance of pre-printed ballots in the lead up to a potential
national election in Lebanon in 2013. |
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| Our approach, funded by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), was to run a
grassroots awareness raising campaign targeting normal citizens of voting age.
These participants were involved in their communities and most importantly
interested in the electoral process. Through a series of workshops facilitated
nationwide, PCDD presented reforms suggested by the Civil Campaign for
Electoral Reform (CCER) that stressed the importance of adopting standardized
o cial ballot papers. |
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| PCDD particularly encouraged the participation of women and youth in the
roundtable events given their limited voice in public forums in Lebanon.
Through our community coordinators we organised roundtables in Saida, Ber
Elias, Baalbeck, Nabatiye, Zahle, Sin El Fil and Meniye. |
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PCDD facilitated a series of participatory exercises for highlighting the importance
pre-printed ballots in electoral processes, some of the issues included:
1) Determining the local electoral reform priorities of each di erent area
2) Screening films highlighting di erent electoral systems proposed and their varying
elements (including pre-printed ballots)
3) Presenting the specific importance of pre-printed ballots using NDI tools (our
funding party dedicated to furthering democracy in developing countries), such as
posters and examples of pre-printed ballots in di erent countries
4) Discussing and opening up question sessions with participants and distribution of
pre-printed ballot flyers
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1. More than 140 participants from communities around Lebanon attended
workshops conducted in all governorates
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2. Participants were supportive of the proposed reforms despite the lack of support
from their various senior political party leadership, given the complex context of
Lebanon this is unique
3. The participation was high despite a general lack of confidence in the likelihood of
their being an election
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