Lebanon's Election Charade: Following the Funds
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri recently declared his commitment to holding elections on schedule, rejecting calls for postponement due to 'security concerns' in the south. This public stance, amplified by state media, paints a picture of democratic steadfastness in a volatile region. Yet, the framing conveniently sidesteps the real stakes for Berri and his allies. A more critical lens
reveals how the 'security concerns' often serve as a convenient distraction from the systemic corruption draining Lebanon. Berri, a key figure in the country's sectarian power-sharing arrangement for decades, has presided over a financial collapse that saw the currency lose 98% of its value since 2019. His political survival, intertwined with networks benefiting from illicit finance and government
contracts, depends on maintaining the existing albeit broken system, a pattern echoed from the 1990s post-civil war reconstruction which enriched warlords-turned-politicians. For these powerful actors, elections, even flawed ones, are not an inconvenient formality, but a necessary ritual for legitimacy, ensuring that international aid and reconstruction funds continue to flow through familiar
channels. Delaying them would threaten the delicate balance of power that preserves their economic advantages. It's a double standard: the elite profit from the chaos while publicly decrying it, all while securing another term. So, when politicians like Berri champion 'timely elections,' one must ask whose timeline is truly being served. It’s a mechanism to perpetuate a system that has enriched a