Analysis: Religious voting in Lebanon

By Kim Ghattas BBC News, Beirut

Hardline Christians are keen to reassert their presence

Christians from Lebanon's Phalange party last week end celebrated the return of the statue of their founder, Pierre Gemayel, still one of the most potent symbols of sectarianism in Lebanon.

The original statue was destroyed by Syrian troops when they took over the Christian heartland in 1990.

The Phalange party feel it is time to reassert their presence ahead of crucial parliamentary polls - the first in three decades without Syrian troops on Lebanese soil.

The last Syrian soldier left in April in a hasty withdrawal triggered by the assassination of anti-Syrian former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Druze are unhappy because they feel all the duties but not all the rights - but we'll overcome it Marwan Hamadeh MP

"This celebration is a sign that Christians finally have a voice again after being silenced for years under the Syrians," said party member Elie Ziadeh.

"All these years Christians in parliament were pro-Syrian they didn't represent us. I think Christians need to be extremists otherwise they'll be swallowed up by the bigger Muslim community."

Government posts

Under Lebanon's complicated electoral system, almost all of the 18 religious sects are given some share of the political power and a quota of seats in parliament.

Christians, less than 40% of the population, get 50% of seats in the legislative body.

The political map of Lebanon is a jigsaw of religious minorities

The president is always a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker a Shia.

The Druze minority is excluded from the highest offices, but get eight seats in parliament.

However, Druze are at the forefront of the political scene thanks to their leader, Walid Jumblatt.

"Druze are unhappy because they feel all the duties but not all the rights - but we'll overcome it," says Druze MP Marwan Hamadeh.

"We're for a fully non-sectarian system, we think all jobs should be open to all Lebanese."

Antiquated system

But in a country where Christians and Muslims fought each other during a 15-year civil war, lack of trust lingers on, even after 15 years of peace.

"The system is totally antiquated, but it's not easily jettisoned because it does create checks and balances," says Shibli Mallat, a constitutional expert.

"Such a system prevents the dominance of one community bolstered by numbers against the other communities.

"The problem is that the sectarian affiliation is constitutionally recognised, so there is a Catch-22 that reproduces the system and prevents the national agenda from emerging."

Candidates are elected on the basis of religion in Lebanon

Many Lebanese feel it is time for the national agenda to transcend sectarian division, especially after the massive multi-confessional demonstrations in February and March after the death of Mr Hariri.

In the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, a populous Shia area and stronghold of the Islamic movement, Hezbollah, or Party of God, a group of Christians and Muslims have been discussing how they can turn Lebanon into a secular republic.

"Hayya Bina, Arabic for Let's go, is a movement, a call for change, a plan of action to reform the constitution through a referendum," says Alexandre Medawar, co-founder of the group with Lokman Slim.

Religious cells

Slim and Medawar are both secular Lebanese, and they feel alienated in a country where marriage, inheritance and politics are all dictated by religion.

Joined by dozens of their friends, they hand out leaflets calling for a secular republic. The leaflets include a cut-out section for dropping into ballot boxes as a protest vote.

"We're getting lots of phone calls, people offering to help. It means that people feel they can't express themselves through the present system," says Medawar.

Slim compared the religious communities to "cells in which the Lebanese are jailed".

For now, though, things look set to remain the same. But there is some hope that in four years' time, some MPs will be elected on their policies and not their religion.