Current Arab elections are theatrical
Current Arab
elections are theatrical
Ghassan
Michel Rubeiz
May 21, 2014,
Washington DC.
Five Arab
countries (Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon) elect their top political
leaders this spring under dubious circumstances. Political business is
returning to “normal”. And normal politics in the Arab world is far from being
so. It is as if the Arab Spring has not taken
place, or it has no permanent impact on the future.
These
electoral events have the attributes of political comedy which covers up tragic
reality. Let us first look at Syria. President
Bashar al Assad runs for presidential elections on June 3, for a third seven-year
term. He ignores the fact that his father governed Syria for 30 years before
his 14 years of a tight-fisted reign, which caused a national uprising three
years ago. The uprising morphed into a
civil war; the initial peaceful rebellion was met with state brutality. The
elections are taking place in an environment of a catastrophic civil war which
has, so far, displaced half the population, created 1.5 million refugees and killed
160 thousand people. Sadly, Assad acts
as the savior of a broken society; he sees the next election as legitimizing the
extension of his mandate.
In Egypt General
Abdel Fattah al Sisi is running for elections on May 26. Sisi resigned from the position of head of the
military after staging a coup against an unpopular, albeit democratically
elected president: Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. A military government
now manages the country with brutal rules against political dissent.
Both Sisi
and Assad are expected to win these two rigged elections.
In Algeria President
Abdel Aziz Bouteflika won a third term in April. Bouteflika’s legitimacy should
have expired by now due to longevity of service, corruption and poor health. The
ailing leader is now a figure head in a political system buttressed by the army
and a civilian elite of old time opportunists.
In Iraq
Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, who has been in power for eight years, won enough
seats in the parliamentary elections which took place on April 30. Maliki has
won a third term but he continues to face strong opposition from all sectors of
society. Maliki is not as ruthless as Saddam Hussein, but he is viewed as a
tyrant by the Iraqi Sunnite community. He is also disliked by a large section
of his own Shiite community. Iraq has
been in a continuing sectarian civil war, where Sunnites oppose the dominance
of Shiite leadership.
In Lebanon
the circumstances of the presidential elections, which are due before May 25,
are also frustrating, but here the situation is different: there is no tyranny
in Lebanon but a feeble state. In the past Syria covertly manipulated the
electoral process in Lebanon. In this round of presidential elections Iran-supported
Syria and US-supported, Saudi Arabia exert equally competing influence on
Lebanese politics; a condition of paralysis exists at points of transition. In
the past month the parliament met four times and failed to elect a new
president, for absence of quorum. Tension grows for lack of agreement on how to
resolve this electoral impasse before the deadline of May 25. The current
president, Michel Suleiman, could vacate his post without being replaced, in
which case the cabinet of ministers will collectively assume the power of the
presidency, as dictated by the constitution. The Lebanese are used to political
cliff-hanging. Among the 12 or so presidential candidates one statesman, Ziad
Baroud, stands out in credibility, leadership and popularity - across political
parties and religious communities. If a moderate, reconciliatory figure is
elected, Lebanon will have six years of stability, but the chances seem to be
slim for elections to occur this week.
In 2011, the
Arab Spring brought pride for the region; in contrast, 2014 will bring shame. Rulers are trying to bury the Arab Spring with
predictable elections. The historical thrust of the Arab Spring can only be
suppressed for a while but not permanently buried.
Current Arab
elections are theatrical
Ghassan
Michel Rubeiz
May 21, 2014,
Washington DC.
Five Arab
countries (Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon) elect their top political
leaders this spring under dubious circumstances. Political business is
returning to “normal”. And normal politics in the Arab world is far from being
so. It is as if the Arab Spring has not taken
place, or it has no permanent impact on the future.
These
electoral events have the attributes of political comedy which covers up tragic
reality. Let us first look at Syria. President
Bashar al Assad runs for presidential elections on June 3, for a third seven-year
term. He ignores the fact that his father governed Syria for 30 years before
his 14 years of a tight-fisted reign, which caused a national uprising three
years ago. The uprising morphed into a
civil war; the initial peaceful rebellion was met with state brutality. The
elections are taking place in an environment of a catastrophic civil war which
has, so far, displaced half the population, created 1.5 million refugees and killed
160 thousand people. Sadly, Assad acts
as the savior of a broken society; he sees the next election as legitimizing the
extension of his mandate.
In Egypt General
Abdel Fattah al Sisi is running for elections on May 26. Sisi resigned from the position of head of the
military after staging a coup against an unpopular, albeit democratically
elected president: Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. A military government
now manages the country with brutal rules against political dissent.
Both Sisi
and Assad are expected to win these two rigged elections.
In Algeria President
Abdel Aziz Bouteflika won a third term in April. Bouteflika’s legitimacy should
have expired by now due to longevity of service, corruption and poor health. The
ailing leader is now a figure head in a political system buttressed by the army
and a civilian elite of old time opportunists.
In Iraq
Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, who has been in power for eight years, won enough
seats in the parliamentary elections which took place on April 30. Maliki has
won a third term but he continues to face strong opposition from all sectors of
society. Maliki is not as ruthless as Saddam Hussein, but he is viewed as a
tyrant by the Iraqi Sunnite community. He is also disliked by a large section
of his own Shiite community. Iraq has
been in a continuing sectarian civil war, where Sunnites oppose the dominance
of Shiite leadership.
In Lebanon
the circumstances of the presidential elections, which are due before May 25,
are also frustrating, but here the situation is different: there is no tyranny
in Lebanon but a feeble state. In the past Syria covertly manipulated the
electoral process in Lebanon. In this round of presidential elections Iran-supported
Syria and US-supported, Saudi Arabia exert equally competing influence on
Lebanese politics; a condition of paralysis exists at points of transition. In
the past month the parliament met four times and failed to elect a new
president, for absence of quorum. Tension grows for lack of agreement on how to
resolve this electoral impasse before the deadline of May 25. The current
president, Michel Suleiman, could vacate his post without being replaced, in
which case the cabinet of ministers will collectively assume the power of the
presidency, as dictated by the constitution. The Lebanese are used to political
cliff-hanging. Among the 12 or so presidential candidates one statesman, Ziad
Baroud, stands out in credibility, leadership and popularity - across political
parties and religious communities. If a moderate, reconciliatory figure is
elected, Lebanon will have six years of stability, but the chances seem to be
slim for elections to occur this week.
In 2011, the
Arab Spring brought pride for the region; in contrast, 2014 will bring shame. Rulers are trying to bury the Arab Spring with
predictable elections. The historical thrust of the Arab Spring can only be
suppressed for a while but not permanently buried.