The political framework of Lebanon

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders: President: Joseph AOUN (since 9 January 2025)
Prime Minister: Najib MIQATI (since 20 September 2021)
Next Election Dates: Presidential: 2031
National Assembly: May 2026
Main Political Parties: Political forces are assigned by a fixed number of seats according to their religious denomination. They group to form electoral alliances, but such coalitions are weakly connected in practice. The main parties represented in the parliament are:

- Strong Republic: nationalist, parliamentary bloc of the Lebanese Forces in the Lebanese Parliament. Christian-based and former militia during the Lebanese civil war, right-wing
- Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc: it is the political wing of Hezbollah in the Parliament of Lebanon, Shia Islamist
- Development and Liberation Bloc: coalition formed by the Amal Movement and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
- Free Patriotic Movement: right-wing, christian democracy, civic nationalism
- Progressive Socialist Party: centre/centre-left, its confessional base is in the Druze sect
- Kataeb Party: right-wing, Christian.
Executive Power: The President is the head of state and is elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term. However, the President is not allowed to serve consecutive terms. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President in consultation with the National Assembly and, importantly, with the approval of the largest parliamentary bloc. The Prime Minister acts as the head of government and serves as long as he has the support of the parliament. Though the Prime Minister enjoys executive powers, which include the implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs, the President also holds a strong and influential position, which includes the promulgation of laws passed by parliament and ratification of treaties. The Cabinet is chosen by the Prime Minister in consultation with the President and members of the National Assembly. As per the constitution of the country, the President must be a Maronite Catholic Christian and the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim.
Legislative Power: The legislature in Lebanon is unicameral. The parliament, called the National Assembly, consists of 128 seats, with its members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation and sectarian quotas. Members serve four-year terms. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The executive branch of the government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the parliament nor can he veto its enactments. The Speaker of the Parliament must be a Shia Muslim.

Indicator of Political Freedom

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Political Freedom:: 5/7

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