Reactionaries steal Lebanese election

[Stark]

The progressive and patriotic forces of Lebanon have had their country stolen from them by the country's reactionary bourgeois circles led by the billionaire oligarch Hariri, Falange fascists, and their petit-bourgeois opportunist supporters. This election was a demonstration of U.S. and Saudi meddling and sabotage; the U.S. Government basically threatened to sever ties with Lebanon had the Resistance been victorious.

The fact that the Resistance polled nearly 55% of the vote while ending up in the parliament's minority demonstrates that Lebanon's political system is rigged in order to benefit certain segments of the population.

From Lebanon's Al-Manar:


"There is a difference between parliamentary majority and popular majority," Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah recalled on Monday while commenting on the elections' outcome.

The Lebanese case seems to be the best example. Thanks to the electoral law, the majority of elected members of the Parliament does not necessarily represent all Lebanese. If another law was applied, other results would emerge.

Indeed, and out of 1,500,000 votes, the opposition lists got an overall of 839,371 votes (55%) while the loyalty got an overall of 693,931 votes (45%).

Moreover, and after the Free Patriotic Movement tickets achieved victory in most of the Christian districts increasing the number of Change and Reform bloc members by 6, the alliance between Hezbollah and AMAL movement proved to be once again the strongest in Shiite districts where the support exceeded 92% of voters.

[#FF0000]

The progressive and patriotic forces

lolwut

[Revy]

Hmm, the March 8 Alliance (or "the progressive and patriotic forces of Lebanon") includes a party called the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which advocates a Greater Syria, and Lebanon's annexation into it.

[Stark]

Greater Syria, and Lebanon's annexation into it. Syria and Lebanon are the same country with artificial and arbitrary borders. Many people in Lebanon migrated from Syria only recently.

[Asoka89]

Since when are Islamists and theocrats fucking "progressive". You can call them the lesser evil, maybe, but don't call them progressive. And by your description of the parties involved why are Islamists and theocrats MORE reactionary than the bourgeoisie?

And this line "progressive and patriotic" literally made me laugh out loud.

[Revy]

Syria and Lebanon are the same country with artificial and arbitrary borders. Many people in Lebanon migrated from Syria only recently.

Sorry, but Syria and Lebanon are not the same country. Unless you can actually show me that people in both countries feel that way. I have never heard of this. It's like arguing India and Pakistan are the same country.

Yes, Lebanon was part of Syria. But now it isn't, and they identify as Lebanese. Venezuela was part of the "Republic of Colombia" (historians call it "Gran Colombia" just so it can be distinguished from the modern-day Republic of Colombia). Are Venezuela and Colombia the same country?

I think all borders are artificial and arbitrary, not just some.

[ZeroNowhere]

Syria and Lebanon are the same country with artificial and arbitrary borders.Um, like every other border, you mean?

[thundertail19921]

This is a sad day for the Lebanese people.

[Asoka89]

Really someone should tell them, because they just HAD AN ELECTION.

[thundertail19921]

How are Syria and Lebanon the same country, by the way? I'm confused by what you have to say.

[Asoka89]

He's spouting some quasi-fascist, nationalist bullshit. It's like someone coming on revLEFT and talking about "greater Serbia", not even worth engaging with.

[Stark]

Since when are Islamists and theocrats fucking "progressive".
The March 8 coalition is not an "Islamist" or "theocratic" group. It is composed of the Shia parties Hezbollah and Amal, General Aoun's mostly Maronite party, and Syrian Social Nationalist Party, Baathists, and Nasserites. Hezbollah is not such a theocratic party, but is more revolutionary-populist.



Sorry, but Syria and Lebanon are not the same country. Unless you can actually show me that people in both countries feel that way.

they identify as Lebanese

It's well-known that after 1918, Lebanon was torn away from Syria by the French imperialists in an effort to create a Mideast Ulster. The two entities have basically the same culture and thousands of years of history. There is no valid reason for them to be separate countries.

Hardly anyone identifies as "Lebanese". People of Lebanon consider themselves Shia, Sunni, Druze, Maronite, Orthodox, Syrian, Palestinian, Armenian, etc. There is a high level of pro-Syria sentiment in Lebanon as shown by the activity of Hezbollah and its allies.


I think all borders are artificial and arbitrary, not just some.
Artificial and arbitrary borders largely apply to the states formed after the decolonization of the 20th century. A nation-state like Japan, for example, surely does not have arbitrary borders.

[Yehuda Stern]

Actually, Hizb Allah and its allies can blame no one but themselves for losing the elections. Their candidates won every seat they contested - they just did not contest enough seats to become a majority. If they had, they might have become heads of the government, and then the masses who support them would see that they are as pro-capitalist as the pro-West parties.

[Dimentio]

Actually, Hizb Allah and its allies can blame no one but themselves for losing the elections. Their candidates won every seat they contested - they just did not contest enough seats to become a majority. If they had, they might have become heads of the government, and then the masses who support them would see that they are as pro-capitalist as the pro-West parties.

Do they really want to win then?

[bricolage]

Artificial and arbitrary borders largely apply to the states formed after the decolonization of the 20th century. A nation-state like Japan, for example, surely does not have arbitrary borders.

All political borders are arbitrary in the sense that they exist to protect nation-states which are in themselves arbitrary. Noone here is arguing that Japan is geographically artificial (unless they want to drag it to China or something, dunno what Maoists are saying these days...) but that as a political entity it is no more or less justified in its existence than any other nation-state or other form of state in the world.

[Devrim]

Actually, Hizb Allah and its allies can blame no one but themselves for losing the elections. Their candidates won every seat they contested - they just did not contest enough seats to become a majority. If they had, they might have become heads of the government, and then the masses who support them would see that they are as pro-capitalist as the pro-West parties.

They can't win enough seats to get a majority under the rules of the Lebanese electoral system. If I remember correctly only 27 seats each are reserved for Shias and Sunnis whereas 64 are reserved for Christians are various denominations.

Devrim

[Sasha]

devrim is right, the lebanese election system is higly complex thanks to the sectarian agreements after the civelwar.
thats why the two rival main christian party's decided wich blok (hariri's or hezbollahs) would take power.
hezbollah won the shia vote decisivly but their allies overplayed their hands.

user stark (sockpuppet of idiot sky) is banned by the way so no point in further debating him.

[Yehuda Stern]

That's probably true. Either way, they did not contest all the seats they could.

[Robespierre2.0]

It's too bad they lost. I don't care if the March 14 alliance were more 'secular'- They are shills of Yankee imperialism- collaborator scum.
I don't know much about the Lebanese Communist Party's line, but they made the right choice siding with the broad anti-imperialist coalition.