With the increasingly heavy burdens of everyday life, May 2022 may feel like an eternity away in Lebanon. This spring, however, marks a high-stakes milestone and reality check for the country’s domestic politics.

The Lebanese dream is a country similar to others around the world. A nation that is not an arena on which sects compete for shares but one where politicians compete to show citizens that they want to provide the best future for their country.

In an interview with Kataeb.org, LADE’s Senior project coordinator, Dayana El Baba said that the 2018 elections were undemocratic because of the electoral law, the sectarian rhetoric, the high expenditure ceiling, bribes to buy votes, the lack of secrecy in voting, and the logistics.

“Back in 2018 the electoral law did not give equal opportunities for all candidates to run for elections and to win due to the way the districts were divided”, Dayana El Baba explained.

The Kataeb party has always called for transparent and fair polls so as to elect people who are sincere, transparent, and competent enough to build a state of law where all people are respected regardless of their political and sectarian affiliations.

According to LADE, the 2022 polls are not that promising. The democracy of the elections is in danger; Lebanon witnessed many attempts to postpone the electoral process.

“Today, the parties that have financial means are bribing the people amid Lebanon's challenging situation. We are witnessing a clientelistic approach, sectarian language, and polarization”, she added.

"We are in the middle of the campaign and till now ministries have not agreed on the financial resources so as to finance the elections of the OCV [Out of Country Voters] as they seek fresh dollars," she emphasized.

Al Baba added that LADE has called for the strict implementation of the current electoral law by respecting the secrecy of the voters, having a Supervisory Commission, vote counting, and limiting the sectarian language, all to have very transparent and fair elections.

The upcoming elections will provide civil society and alternative parties with the first post-uprising opportunity to secure political representation. Expectations are level-headed and elections are by no means an end goal, but the ballot box remains the most important signaling device in Lebanese politics.