Elections in Lebanon: What purpose did they serve?

The Lebanese parliamentary elections on June 7 re-elected the 14 March Alliance, with a comfortable majority. But this is far from settling the questions arising from the crisis in the Lebanese political system, which continues to divide the country into two tightly-knit camps, none of which can be excluded in the quest for a stabilized political formula. How to find a new consensus and go beyond the task of crisis management is the challenge facing Lebanon, which has jolted it periodically since the civil war ended officially in 1989 with the Taef agreements. This article poses these questions and describes the elements of the crisis. They all remain as relevant today as they were before the elections.

The views represented in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arab Reform Initiative, its staff, or its board.