The People Want Ziad Baroud (and some Radical Change)
If you attended the protests in Beirut on August 22 and 23, you were probably blown away by the diversity of the attendees: Mar Mikhael hipsters, Frenchies in colorful shorts, middle-aged men with cigars and big watches, ravers, old-school lefties, young lefties, Tante Claudette from Achrafieh, students, middle-class families with their children. I saw a woman wearing a hammer and sickle necklace standing next to a guy with a zoulfikar around his neck, not to mentioned all sizes and styles of crosses and veils. Lebanon has it all and that’s what makes it so special.
Trash was our common grievance, but I decided to protest the fact that we have been deprived of legislative elections. I did this by carrying a big box and offering people the chance to vote for whomever they felt represented them. As you know, our parliament's term expired in May 2013 and the MPs have yet to elect a president, let alone agree on a new election law and call for new elections. They do, however, continue to collect their paychecks.
When people asked me who or what they were voting for, I told them they could vote for any person, or group of people, they felt represented them. If they couldn't think of anyone (and many couldn't), to vote for an issue that is close to their hearts.
I did not expect people to be so enthusiastic to vote. I received over 700 ballots in 6 hours. People wrote emotional statements on ballots in the form of yellow post-its. The words showed anger and despair, but also genuine hope that the people gathered there would make a change. It was obvious that they had been pushed to the edge and were just drained, mentally and physically, of life in Lebanon.
Disclaimer: This is by no means a serious poll. It was a stunt, pure and simple. Nevertheless, the results are interesting and I would like to share them. This does highlight the need for a serious, thorough non-partisan opinion poll in Lebanon.
Here's how they voted
As you can see, many people could not think of a candidate, and this is not out of laziness. Some people wrote long statements. Others took the time to write the words war2a bayda and delicately fold the ballot. Many vented and swore.
The Winners
Ziad Baroud is hands-down the most popular "candidate" among the voters who were able to come up with names. One in three of the votes went to him. Charbel Nahhas came in second.
As you can see below, between Ziad Baroud, Charbel Nahas, Demianos Kattar, and the guys from #Youstink, they have almost 60% of the vote!
I believe Ziad & Co. under-estimate the amount of people who support them and the number of people who are fed up with the system. To the voters, these people are technocrats that represent civil society, good governance and the rule of law.
I know, this is not necessarily a representative poll, but despite all the diversity in views, religions, ages, and soci0-economic backgrounds, Ziad Baroud was the first person that came to most people's minds. He is the de-facto leader of this protest movement and I don't think he knows it…nor do the #Youstink organizers.
The top five independent candidates should seriously consider starting a party. People, myself included, would join en masse, especially if #طلعت ـ ريحتكم, which now has more than one hundred thousand followers on Facebook, jumps on the bandwagon.
Party politics have been given a bad name in Lebanon because of their association with militias and political dynasties, but they are healthy expressions of democratic political life. We should not confuse being anti-Lebanese politicians with being against a political process or even anti-elections .
Ziad, if you are reading this, people are waiting for you to make a move.
The Issues
Here are the issues that received the most mentions:
- Secularism
- Electoral reform, including the ability to vote in direct presidential elections, the ability to vote based on residency and not origin, diaspora eligibility, and nisbiye (proportionality).
- The environment, children's rights, decentralization and even support for autism received mentions.
- One voter, Bilal has mental disabilities. He came up to me and insisted on voting. He could only write his name, but he told me انا اسمي بلال و انا بدي شغل. He voted for the right to make a living.
There were voters who came up to me with enthusiasm and fervor, writing beautiful prose despite the miniature canvas.
There is a great word in Arabic to describe these voters: محقونين. They are men and women, young and old, who are about to burst. They found an outlet in the post-its, just like they did in the wall that the government put up in Riad-el-Solh (Thanks dawleh!). Some of the statements brought tears to my eyes. A handful of people couldn't read or write (Sorry CNN, we are not all the urbane party-goers you make us out to be.), but they grabbed whoever was next to them and dictated their votes.
Celebrities and Non-humans
Celebrities featured prominently in the ballot box including, but not limited to: Hayfa Wehbe, George Wassouf, and Mia Khalifa. Dead People including Bachir Gemayel and Che Guevara got a decent showing. Adolf Hitler got two votes.
One voter drew a picture of an arghileh, another thought صرمايتو would do a better job. A young one man voted for his dog — loyalty was the deciding factor. Someone drew the obligatory pair of boobs.
The Army
The Lebanese Army received a surprising number of votes, including some who wrote down very detailed plans for a transition process (see below). The army obviously has the respect of many people to the extent that they would forego democracy to have it run the show. This may be an indicator of people's desire for strong and decisive actions to be taken by a strong leader or group of leaders. Many people also say that it is the one remaining functional institution in Lebanon. It is a vote for stability.
Lebanon
Finally, the clear winner of the election, was Lebanon, the sha3b, the cedar, the youth, our children — us basically.
These results show that it is not naive to say that there is a silent, frustrated majority in Lebanon that, given the chance, would vote for non-sectarian candidates with solid programs especially if we have a fair electoral system.
More importantly, the outpouring of statements, the frustration, the various issues that were highlighted, stresses the need to think about what it means to be Lebanese in 2015 and beyond.
Perhaps it is time for a new constitution, a document that would not be decided on in a conference in Qatar or Taef. The process should be frank, inclusive, participatory, and transparent. A real national dialogue, very different with the ones we have seen, with consultations in every village, the involvement of the diaspora, women and minorities.
No amount of resignations is going to accomplish the meaningful change that people desire, even if they do end up electing a president.
Nevertheless, I will attend every demonstration I can hoping for another 2005 moment. That year a similarly diverse protesters got rid of one major civil war legacy: Syrian occupation. Is it that unconceivable to get rid of another in 2015? People have already woken up.
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