Symbolic
elections held in Paris by Lebanese expatriates
Daily Star staff
Friday, July 08, 2005
Paris: Symbolic elections were organized last Sunday in Paris by a group of Lebanese youths living in France. The non-confessional initiative is the first of its kind in Lebanon's history. It allowed expatriate Lebanese to symbolically elect candidates according to their expertise.
Paris-based engineer Nicolas Shikhani said the event aimed to prove the technical effectiveness of an electoral process outside Lebanon and the desire of Lebanese people living abroad to contribute to building Lebanon's future.
The elections took place in Trocadero in Paris, where an electoral bureau was set up. Symbolic electoral cards were given to participants. The electoral bureau was open for five hours, during which a total of 427 Lebanese cast their ballots, ranging in age between 18 and 73.
In order to get an electoral card, the voter submitted his/her Lebanese identification, along with an official document proving his/her residence in France.
Shikhani said the group elected 13 representatives based on their expertise in the fields of economics, investment, finance, healthcare, education, etc.
The nomination and election process combined new technology and time-honored practices, said Shikhani.
"We decided to [conduct this election to] take advantage of the election hype and press coverage inside Lebanon," he added.
Some 45 people submitted their candidacy, and the candidates were symbolically elected for one day.
According to Shikhani, the success of the elections abroad was a reply to Lebanese officials who believed Lebanese emigrants were not interested in their country's politics.
Shikhani said this initiative will lead to the creation of a non-political association to deal with popularizing the overseas electoral process in other countries. - The Daily Star