Convincing the masses

Parliamentary elections are coming, and groups of hopeful upstarts are forming (one even financed what must be a rather expensive national billboard campaign) with an eye on defeating as many establishment candidates as possible. The challenges for such an undertaking are many and significant, so an effective strategy is paramount. The first challenge facing outsiders will be the law governing the election itself. While parliament is currently debating reforms to the law, what exists on the books – and will be used in 2017 unless it’s amended or completely replaced – is the so-called 1960 law. It’s often described as a “winner-takes-all” system. Reformers want Lebanon instead to use proportional representation. There’s an important nuance related to the confessional nature of Lebanon’s system that we can’t forget, however. Parliamentary seats in Lebanon are not only divided by district, they’re divided by sect as well. It’s easy to look at a