The Lebanese Army has taken measures to enforce the law during Elections Day and to ensure electoral security in and around the polling stations and throughout the process.
Electoral security takes a more important role this time around due to the heightened tensions surrounding this fateful event.
The rise of civil society movements and forces of change opposing the parties anchored in the ruling body for decades has materialized as a serious challenge to the latter, some of which deem it an act of rebellion that could topple them.
The level of tension is expected to increase within certain regions, especially in areas known to be sensitive and held by militants.
The Lebanese military is tasked to control security, protect delegates, and prevent any improper operations inside polling stations to ensure the integrity of the democratic process, which is the primary security role in these elections.
The responsibility is divided between the security forces that are obligated to protect the polling stations from the inside and the army that is entrusted with the task of protecting the entire operation.
The army has already begun deploying in the vicinity of polling stations in various regions across Lebanon. Its target is to secure the electoral process while supervising security developments through central and regional operations rooms that include all security services.
Defence Minister Maurice Selim announced in a statement that the army will supervise the work of its units “through a central operations room in the army command and sub-operation rooms in each of the commands of the five military regions.”
He explained that “the army operations rooms are represented by the general directorates of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the State Security, and the General Security, through the assignment of officers to those operation rooms.”
The army “is fully prepared to maintain the security of the elections on the entire Lebanese territory,” he said, stressing that the army “is keen to avoid any riots.”
Hence, according to his statement, the Lebanese army will “ensure the safety and freedom of citizens to exercise their constitutional right in this important democratic process at the national level.”
From its side, the Lebanese Army Command issued a statement, calling the citizens “to fully respond to the measures taken and to assume national responsibility for the success and completion of the electoral process.”
Related:
Here’s Everything You Need To Know If You Are Voting In Lebanon On Sunday.
Here’s The Detailed List Of Who’s Running In The Lebanese Elections In 2022
