Ministry of Interior Announces Electronic Vote Counting Technique According to L’Orient Today, “an official at the Interior Ministry said that this technique consists of a fast electronic connection through fiber optics between the electoral commissions sitting in the districts of each constituency and the Interior Ministry. ‘This is an internal network [intranet] set up for the benefit of the ministry and the commissions responsible for verifying the proper conduct of the legislative vote. This network allows an instant delivery of results. Its access is secure and safe from any online intrusion,’ the ministry official told L’Orient-Le Jour.” [L’Orient Today]
International Donor Conference Raises $6.7 Billion for Syria & Neighboring Countries According to Reuters, “An international donor conference raised $6.7 billion for Syria and its neighbours on Tuesday despite what the European Union’s foreign policy chief said was ‘a certain fatigue’ with the conflict there, now its 12th year.” [Reuters]
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Listen To The Secretary General – All Is Not Well! Jean AbiNaderAbiNader writes, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lambasted Lebanon’s ruling elite and Hezbollah using harsh terms in his regular report to the Security Council on May 4. The Secretary General’s semi-annual report on the implementation of a 2004 Security Council resolution reiterated its two key demands that have yet to be fulfilled: the Lebanese government’s establishment of sovereignty throughout the country and the disarmament and disbandment of all Lebanese militias . . . Overseas voting took place just this past weekend, one week ahead of the national polls in Lebanon. Without exit polls, however, any indications of the results will presumably be revealed through inference, until the votes are counted after May 15 that is. There are strong indications that the Lebanese Forces (LF) in particular may repeat its strong showing of 2018 but with three times as many expatriate voters in 2022, it is well-honed speculation at this point.”
Diwan, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center Fighting Females Alia BrahimiBrahimi writes, “Since 2017, the armed forces have embarked on a sweeping drive to recruit, integrate, and advance women within its ranks, which has been sustained despite Lebanon’s multivalent crisis. Female representation within the armed forces has increased from 1 percent in 2017 to 5.5 percent by the end of 2021, in a force of roughly 75,000 personnel . . . The desire for change at the most senior levels of the armed forces has sometimes outrun the capacity to implement it, in areas ranging from infrastructure such as female barracks to mechanisms for reporting abuse. There is some distance to go to embed structures and processes that will outlast the military institution’s leading personalities. All the while, Lebanon’s economic turmoil threatens to arrest much of the progress made, not least due to the ongoing pause on further recruitment.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.
