About four years after the October 17 uprising and the subsequent union and student uprising, which successively manifested itself in the spectacle of internal elections in universities, such as the American University, the Jesuit University, and others, in favor of secular clubs and political independents, this uprising subsided and the scene began to shift successively in favor of the parties whose presence had diminished for a short period of time. The elections at the Lebanese American University (LAU) (with its branches in Beirut and Jbeil) today were different from what students who were independent of political parties had hoped for, as was the custom, before the uprising and in the last two years.
Student elections
The parties succeeded in winning all the electoral seats (with approximately 8,500 students voting for their representatives in both branches), and the results were as follows: Beirut branch (15 seats, 11 female and 14 male candidates): 6 seats for the Amal Movement (the largest bloc in Beirut), 3 seats for the Party God, two seats for the Future Movement, two seats for the Progressive Socialist Party, two seats for the Forces Party. As for the Jbeil branch (15 seats, 7 female and 16 male candidates): 10 seats for the Lebanese Forces (the largest bloc), 3 seats for the Socialist Party, and 2 seats for the Free Patriotic Movement. While no seat was registered for the secular, according to the results released this afternoon, Friday, October 6. While observers pointed out that the long election day was politically charged, contrary to what the administration, which insists on organizing annual elections, aims to adopt an electoral student law that removes the specter of political tensions on university campuses.
Sources monitoring the elections, which have recently taken on a symbolic character, and which rely on electronic voting, One Man One Vote (meaning each voter has the right to elect only one candidate), indicate the return of representatives of the Future Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party, and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party to the electoral scene. By supporting their representatives in this electoral process. Meanwhile, a worrying decline was observed in the percentage of support for the secular club that did not run in the elections as a club or political party, while support and advocacy was limited to independent candidates. A decline was also observed in the representatives of the Amal Movement in the Jbeil branch. However, this brief return to political parties did not have any real impact on the results of the elections, which ended with the rise of the Lebanese Forces and taking the helm of student representation at the Lebanese American University.
This is while information circulated about a violation of the election rules and the student code of conduct on the campus of the Lebanese American University in Jbeil, where a video was filmed showing one of the Lebanese Forces candidates, student Christy Raad, voting for herself from the phones of the rest of the students, which created a state of alienation and resentment among the ranks. Students, and increased the wave of political tension among them.
Decline in independent student representation
While observers attribute the reasons for the decline in independent political representation, especially the chances of the secular club in the student elections, to the fact that the university administration adopted an election law that does not allow student groups, such as secular clubs, to mobilize students around them and submit to lists that include candidates for these clubs. Independents expected this type of decline, coupled with the intensification of the electoral battle at the university. While observers are optimistic about the elections in other universities, such as the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Jesuit University (USJ), and Our Lady of Louaize, in favor of the rise, even if relative, of the independents there. While others pointed out that the main reason for the decline in the secularist’s popularity was his putting forward “unrealistic” demands in terms of fixing installments at the exchange rate of 1,500 or the permanent and direct clash with the administration.
2023-10-06 16:34:17
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