Electoral workers sort ballots after the polls were closed during Lebanon's parliamentary election in Khiam, near the border with Israel, in southern Lebanon May 15, 2022. (Credit: Issam Abdallah/Reuters)
BEIRUT — “Voter and candidate intimidation” and “rampant vote-buying” occurred during Lebanon’s May 15 parliamentary elections, according to a report presented Wednesday by the National Democratic Institute, a US-funded non-profit.
Here’s what we know:
• NDI’s report suggests that the Lebanese government “made voters more vulnerable to vote buying and intimidation” in its decision not to establish “mega centers,” which would have been voting locations in populated areas that would allow citizens to vote without traveling to their ancestral villages.
• The report also documented 15 appeals filed between May 31 and June 16 in 10 districts. “The majority of the appeals were related to surpassing the legal electoral spending cap, as well as bribery, unequal opportunities and sectarian incitement,” the report said.
• According to NDI’s report, the Tripoli district “topped the list with four appeals, while the districts of Keserwen-Jbeil and Saida-Jezzine came in second place with two appeals each.”
• NDI presented the Lebanese government with recommendations and measures to ensure voters’ rights in future elections. The group suggested providing improved access to people with disabilities, such as setting polling stations on the ground floor of buildings, providing ballot papers in braille script and installing accessible ballot booths.
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