Event Reports
In Lebanon, the only legal framework for Lebanese political parties today is the Ottoman Law of Association of 1909 which applies to all forms of associations; NGOs and political parties included. Therefore, there are no regulations on the internal structure of political parties and their role in the political process, and political parties enjoy the right to autonomously manage and administer their finances, open bank accounts, and accept funding and gifts. In other words, there is no law that ensures democracy and accountability within Lebanese political parties.
Considering that the youth are the main drivers of change and that they have a key role to play within political parties in which they are members to promote values of democracy and accountability, this workshop on intra-party democracy and accountability was designed to enable a discussion amongst young political activists on best ways to enhance democracy within their parties.
In his opening speech Mr. Peter Rimmele, the Resident Representative of the Lebanon Program of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, addressed the audience with emphasizing the importance of rebuilding the trust between citizens and their respective representatives through a democratic and transparent system. He elaborated that "if public confidence in political parties’ democracy and accountability is compromised, the entire democratic process on a country level is jeopardized."
In the following presentation of Mr. Shawket Echtay, a Professor of the Lebanese American University, a study was presented that was commissioned by KAS Lebanon in 2014-2015. Mr. Echtay pointed to grim conclusions in that the electoral processes and internal consultations taking place in major Lebanese parties are gravely in lack of internal transparency, participation, and effective democracy. Moreover, he encouraged the academia to conduct further studies on the lack of internal democracy in Lebanese party system, consequently shedding light in the tunnel, drawing deeper and more concise conclusions for Lebanon and its citizens.
Mr. Nabil Hassan, from Beyond Reform and Development, held a very interactive and well received training on intra-party accountability for the young political activists. He brought them closer to the fundamental pillars of effective democracy and accountability within political parties through engaging the motivated participants in a multitude of activities. Mr. Hassan underlined the importance of diversity and inclusion on all levels of participation with an emphasis on the integration of the youth.
The Workshop was successfully completed by a video broadcast from Germany with Dr. Mario Voigt, Vice-Chairman of the CDU Thuringia on intra-party democracy and accountability in Germany, with the CDU as a case study. Dr. Voigt stressed the need for a clear legal framework as a precondition for a promising framework of political party organization. He used the German Parteien Gesetz as a prerogative for political organizations, which established that "their internal organization must conform to democratic principles and that they must publicly account for their assets and for the sources and use of their funds" (Art. 21 Constitutional Law). Dr. Voigt concluded that internal democracy is an important incentive for citizens participating in the discourse for a country's future development, thus striving for the four P's of Politics: For the People with the Purpose of inducing change through delivering meaningful Principles and involving people through effective Participation.