Low confidence in judicial systems across Lebanese, while majority want port blast investigation to continue, Gallup reveals

BEIRUT — As the investigation into the Beirut port explosion continues to be stalled by lawsuits and protests from influential senior politicians, only 16 percent of Lebanese expressed confidence in their judicial system last year, according to the findings of a poll published Tuesday by the American analytics and advisory company Gallup.

Here’s what we know:

    • This confidence level is at “an all-time low for the country and among the lowest out of 112 countries surveyed,” the Gallup article states.

    • When asked if Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation into the 2020 port explosion was being conducted fairly or with bias against certain groups, more Lebanese said the investigation is a fair one (35 percent versus 23 percent).

    • According to the findings, by a margin of more than two to one, Lebanese adults say that Bitar should be allowed to continue his investigation.

    • The poll revealed two out of three (67 percent) said that the investigation should continue, according to the article. Given the political sensitivity of the topic, however, more than four in 10 Lebanese (42 percent) did not express an opinion.

    • On the matter of the investigation’s fairness, only 61 percent of those surveyed who offered an opinion said the investigation was fair, while more than four in 10 Lebanese (42 percent) did not express an opinion.

    • There is widespread support for the continuation of the port investigation among most major Lebanese confessional groups, including 84 percent of Christians who express an opinion and a similar rate among Sunnis (88 percent).

    • The article concluded that slightly fewer than one in four Lebanese Shia who express an opinion believe that the investigation should continue.