Electoral system for national legislature

Lebanon’s electoral system came into being with the vision of demolishing sectarianism after the Civil War. The system was designed to minimize inter-sectarian competition and maximize cross-confessional cooperation: candidates must seek support from outside of their own faith in order to be elected. In practice, the system has led to charges of gerrymandering where constituency boundaries drawn has led to Christian Members being forced to represent Muslim interests. 

However, following the 2000 and 2005 elections, there would be widespread public and political dissatisfaction for what was perceived to be an “unfair, unrepresentative and gerrymandered” electoral system. This would usher in the long process of reforming the electoral system. The 2018 elections will introduce the new proportional representation electoral system.