Lebanon’s Election Supervisory Board commented on Thursday on the huge number of violations witnessed during the electoral process.
It stated that an acceptable commitment to the electoral silence period was noted in the various stages of the electoral process, however, that wasn’t the case on Elections Day, where the Board recorded about 324 violations by media outlets, candidates, electoral lists, and political authorities.
These violations compelled the Election Supervisory Board’s president and members to directly intervene with phone calls, “to no avail.”
The Board also recorded vote-buying violations through complaints received from candidates, regulations, political bodies, and others, as well as sectarian incitement and hate speech:
“About hate speech and inciting sectarian strife, the commission observed an increase in the intensity of the electoral and political rhetoric between candidates, lists, and political, parties.”
The Election Supervisory Board is currently studying the local and international reports issued by numerous organizations that were officially approved to monitor the electoral process.
The Board will soon publish all the results on its website to further the access to information and “the principle of transparency.”
LADE, the EU Observers, and the Arab League Mission recorded a large number of violations during the elections, including electoral propaganda and attempts to influence voters by vote-buying.
They also noted the inability of the Lebanese authorities to enforce law and order and provide a safer and more transparent electoral process.
