Project Watan on Lebanon Amid the Storms: Priority for Domestic Issues and the Amendment of the Electoral Law

Project Watan’s Executive Board held its weekly meeting, chaired by MP Neemat Frem, with all members in attendance, to address local, regional, and international developments. At the conclusion of the meeting, the following statement was issued:

• The Board considered that the world today stands at the heart of intensifying storms, with highly complex regional and international conflicts – from Israel and Iran to Ukraine and Russia, and extending to China and Taiwan – gradually escalating into broader global confrontations.

Accordingly, the Board believes that Lebanon’s capacity to absorb these developments is limited and calls for prioritizing national issues to rescue our country from these deadly storms and assume a positive role that serves the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese alone, without subordination to external powers.

• Project Watan addressed the upcoming parliamentary elections, stressing the need to amend the electoral law so that it becomes applicable and truly reflective of the genuine Lebanese voice, while guaranteeing expatriates their full right to vote and ensuring proper conditions for resident voters, so that no vote serves the interests of other states but rather the pure national will.

In this context, we believe that political courage requires more than patchwork solutions. If it proves impossible to hold the elections on time under amendments that render the current law fair, just, and transparent, then there should be a limited technical postponement of a few months. Should this also prove unfeasible, we must move toward adopting a modern and advanced electoral law that lays the foundation for a new phase in Lebanon and allows for the simultaneous election of a House of Representatives and a Senate in accordance with the provisions of the Taif Agreement. Genuine reform requires the courage of the strong and the boldness of the confident, as we seize global transformations to turn internal collapse into an opportunity to build a new Lebanon.

• The Board affirmed that salaries in the public sector constitute a fundamental right for employees. However, priority today must be given to retirees, who are the least able to wait and the most in need of immediate relief that guarantees a dignified livelihood.

Addressing this issue must begin with an urgent humanitarian approach before embarking on comprehensive reforms. Thereafter, the government, Parliament, and all concerned parties must move toward restructuring the public sector on modern foundations, including clear job descriptions, filling vacancies according to transparent standards, and ensuring that wages are updated to provide a decent standard of living for employees and attract the best talent to the Lebanese public sector.