Lebanon is now in top gear for the parliamentary elections that will occur on June 7, and billboards throughout the land will soon bear images of leaders and the political symbols of the various competing parties. The new electoral law, signed post-Doha accords, not only puts a limit on campaign spending at roughly $100,000, with an added variable that depends on the number of voters within the electoral district determined by the Council of Ministers, but also stated that the private and public media wishing to take part in electoral advertising should create “a price list and information on the ‘spaces’ it intends to consecrate for electoral advertising and promotion.” An interesting facet about the new electoral law and electoral campaigning is that the Internet has been ignored. All references to the law refer to “radio, TV or printed media.” According to the International Telecommunication Union, 24 percent of Lebanese
