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Democratic Left Movement (Lebanon)
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Left Movement (DLM, ĥarakatu-l-yasāri-d-dimuqrātī, Arabic acronym HYD) is the first leftist
political party in the Lebanese Parliament. It was founded in September 2004 by left-wing intellectuals and activists who previously split from the Lebanese Communist Party
(LCP). The DLM affirms a European-style social democracy
—but is open to all forms of leftism—and encourages the development of a secular state. The party operates under a decentralized framework that emphasizes diversity of thought. It participated in the 2005 Cedar Revolution
, a wave of demonstrations against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and calls for correcting imbalanced relations with Syria
.
The DLM won its first parliamentary seat in Lebanon's 2005 elections
representing the Tripoli district. On June 2, 2005, amid election rounds, Samir Kassir
, a founder of the movement, was assassinated in a car bombing. Less than one month later, George Hawi
, a former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party and an ally of the DLM, was killed in a similar car bombing in Beirut
. In the 2009 elections
, the party again won a single seat, instead representing the West Bekaa district. It is a member of the March 14 Alliance
parliamentary coalition.
The rise of Islamic Fundamentalism
, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the failure of the LCP to assume a more democratic socialist
platform ushered in an era of political decline for the party. This, coupled with perceived Syrian domination of its leadership, led to increasing frustration among rank-and-file communists against the upper echelons of the party.
On September 13, 2000, a group calling itself "the reform and democracy forces in the Lebanese Communist Party" wrote an open letter demanding the resignation of party leadership. Led by Elias Atallah
, a former guerrilla,Atallah helped lead the LCP in the 18-year resistance against Israeli forces in Lebanon. See South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000) the dissidents accused LCP leaders of subservience to Syria
and called for full democratization of the party and abandonment of the Stalinist
line. Atallah was expelled from the party on September 26 of that year.
These activists who split from the LCP, leftist student groups, and assorted intellectuals formed the Democratic Left Movement. An initial "temporary preparatory committee" for the movement emerged, which issued statements critical of Syrian intervention in Lebanon and called for the birth of a new left. In September 2004, the Democratic Left Movement was officially established. On October 17, at a ceremony commemorating its foundation attended by figures across the political spectrum, Elias Atallah declared that the movement was founded on three principles: "[First] , we are preachers of real social and cultural change on the bases of democracy, national independence and reconciliation with the Arab nation and Arab nationalism. Second we are preachers of cultural and ideological renaissance for the sake of secularism and political and religious reforms in the Arab east... Thirdly we believe in fighting for freedom and against tyranny and oppression."
Shortly after foundation, the DLM, Qornet Shehwan Gathering
, Democratic Renewal
, and Democratic Gathering formed a "multi-party opposition" to oppose the constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term of Emile Lahoud
. The informal coalition, which sought to defend the constitution and republic, appealed for free elections based on an equitable electoral law, curtailing corruption, fostering an independent judiciary, and reforming public administration. It was divided on the Syrian military presence in the country and on the use of arms to resolve the Shebaa farms dispute. Later, in December 2004 and again in February 2005, the movement was among an agglomeration of opposition parties to gather at Beirut
's Bristol Hotel and demand a "total withdrawal" of Syrian troops.
, a so-called colour revolution in which hundreds of thousands rallied against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon and its supporters in the Lebanese government. As the only leftist, nonsectarian element in the demonstrations, the DLM proved important for the opposition's public relations. Following the resignation of pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami
in a wave of demonstrations, DLM leader Elias Atallah is quoted as saying, "Today the government fell. Tomorrow, it's the one huddled in Anjar
," in reference to the Syrian chief of intelligence based in that city. The New York Times
credited Samir Kassir, a founder of the movement, with orchestrating the protests. On March 14, 2005, Atallah addressed the demonstrators, articulating the need for a free, sovereign, and united Lebanon. The DLM called on the protesters to press on to Baabda Palace
, residence of the president, hoping to use the momentum to compel Emile Lahoud
to resign. However, resistance by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir prevented this, resulting in a temporary fallout between the DLM and opposition.
The movement remains critical of perceived Syrian interference in Lebanon, citing its participation in the March 14 Alliance
parliamentary bloc as "defending Lebanese independence against the Syrian regime’s attacks and against Hezbollah and its allies’ attempts to impose their views and choices". It lists "attaining full independence of the country" as a political goal.
, a founder and leader of the movement, a prominent Lebanese journalist, and an outspoken critic of Syria was assassinated in a car bombing. DLM activists marched to the presidential palace
in the Beirut suburb of Baabda
to lay a wreath representing guilt for Kassir's death. Elias Atallah, head of the DLM, explained that the wreath would "place the blame at the head of the joint Lebanese-Syrian security regime". Emile Lahoud
, then president, condemned the killing and told reporters, "My conscience is clear". After Kassir's death, membership in the DLM surged to a few thousand.
Less than one month later, on June 21, 2005, George Hawi
, a former secretary general of the LCP, was killed in a similar car bombing in Beirut. Hawi, an outspoken critic of Syria in recent years, actively campaigned for DLM leader Elias Atallah's candidacy in Lebanon's 2005 Elections.
Atallah and other allies of Hawi blamed the bombing on pro-Syrian forces in the Lebanese-security apparatus. In an interview with NOW Lebanon
, former DLM Vice President Ziad Majed explained, "Georges Hawi ... was trying to bring the communist party, or at least part of it, to join efforts with us [the DLM]."
In Al-Mustaqbal
newspaper, Elias Atallah called for broadening the planned inquiries into Rakfik Harri's assassination to include the Kassir and Hawi bombings. He demanded Lahoud's resignation, saying the president was "incapable of protecting leadership figures in Lebanon."
In October 2004, a 77-member constituent assembly elected a 15-member Executive Committee in the movement's first session of internal elections. Those elected included Elias Atallah as General Secretary (and leader), Nadim Abdel Samad as president, and Hikmat Eid, Anju Rihan, Ziad Majed and Ziad Saab as members. In April 2007, another internal election occurred. Two lists competed, one supported by Atallah and representing the leadership's rhetoric and the other an all-youth movement named Keep Left. While Atallah was reelected, Keep Left attained 30% of votes in Lebanon and 58% of votes abroad in an online poll, enabling the entire list to be elected. Ziad Majed, previously vice president of the DLM, and Elias Khoury, a prominent and founding member, chose not to participate for personal and political reasons.
Headquartered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, branches are permitted in any region of Lebanon or abroad. Provincial and district associations are largely autonomous. Youth members comprise a substantial portion of the movement; Elias Atallah stated that half of the party's members was 26 or younger.
The next General Assembly is set for 2010, three years after the 2007 General Assembly, as per the movement's bylaws.
to promote equality without hampering personal liberty or economic productivity. In an interview with NOW Lebanon
, DLM Former Vice President Ziad Majed classified the movement as center-left economically. However, he went on to say that the party adopted a decentralized model when founded to enable the coexistence of divergent views in which internal movements are encouraged. Its political manifesto identifies the movement as "beyond the requirement of singularity of thought" and open to leftists of all denominations. This emphasis on pluralism distinguishes the DLM from other leftist groups in Lebanon.
of the Lebanese state. This includes abolishing sectarian appropriation of public jobs, replacing the confessional
parliamentary system with a representative system, and permitting the execution of civil marriage
on Lebanese soil. The Economist
magazine described the party as the "most avowedly secular component" of the March 14 Alliance
.
The DLM appeals for administrative reform in the public sector through a decentralization, modernization, and mechanization plan. It defends human rights and calls for the respect of public freedoms and rule of law
. Listed within its platform is support for the marginalized and the abandonment of divisive particularism
. The movement supports prohibiting the discrimination of the disabled.
.
of May and June 2005, the DLM won one seat to become the first leftist political party in the Lebanese Parliament. Holding the Maronite seatEach religious community in Lebanon has an allotted number of seats in the Parliament. They do not represent only their co-religionists, however; all candidates in a particular constituency, regardless of religious affiliation, must receive a plurality of the total vote, which includes followers of all confessions, and represent them equally. See Confessionalism (politics)
of Tripoli
, Elias Atallah represented the district as part of the March 14 Alliance
, a pro-Western political coalition and parliamentary majority. Atallah received 89,890 votes to defeat rival Fayez Wajih Karam by 14,482 votes.
In the 2009 elections
, Atallah could not seek reelection because March 14 selected Samer Saadeh, a Kataeb Party
candidate, to run on the coalition's list in the Tripoli district. Meanwhile, Amin Wehbi, another DLM candidate, won a Shiite parliamentary seat in West Bekaa on the March 14 coalition's list. Accruing 34,424 votes, 53% of ballots cast, Wehbi unseated incumbent Nasser Nasrallah of the Amal Movement
, who obtained 25,457 votes.
The influence of the DLM, however, stems not from its limited electoral successes but from "its articulation of anti-Syrian positions from a left[ist] perspective."
. A Brooklyn Rail
editorial lamented that while the movement had been "a meeting ground between different factions" it has since become "sidelined with the resurgence in sectarianism". An article in the London Review of Books
, a literary and political magazine, labeled the DLM "stalled in disagreements and distractions" and chastised "a single seat in parliament and an ascendant Islamic resistance in the south are all the movement has to show for opposing many of Hariri’s policies, on the one hand, and campaigning against Syrian hegemony on the other".
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
political party in the Lebanese Parliament. It was founded in September 2004 by left-wing intellectuals and activists who previously split from the Lebanese Communist Party
Lebanese Communist Party
The Lebanese Communist Party – LCP or Parti communiste libanais in French, is a communist political party in Lebanon...
(LCP). The DLM affirms a European-style social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
—but is open to all forms of leftism—and encourages the development of a secular state. The party operates under a decentralized framework that emphasizes diversity of thought. It participated in the 2005 Cedar Revolution
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
, a wave of demonstrations against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and calls for correcting imbalanced relations with Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
The DLM won its first parliamentary seat in Lebanon's 2005 elections
Lebanese general election, 2005
The 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
representing the Tripoli district. On June 2, 2005, amid election rounds, Samir Kassir
Samir Kassir
Samir Kassir was a Lebanese professor of history at Saint-Joseph University and journalist. Born to a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother, Kassir received his degree in philosophy and political philosophy in 1984, in 1990, Kassir earned his PhD in Modern History also from the University of...
, a founder of the movement, was assassinated in a car bombing. Less than one month later, George Hawi
George Hawi
George Hawi was a Lebanese politician and former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party . He was assassinated in 2005.-Background:...
, a former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party and an ally of the DLM, was killed in a similar car bombing in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. In the 2009 elections
Lebanese general election, 2009
-Background:Prior to the election, the process to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years was put into motion, but as this requires a constitutional amendment, it did not happen before the election.- Allocation of seats :...
, the party again won a single seat, instead representing the West Bekaa district. It is a member of the March 14 Alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
parliamentary coalition.
Background and foundation
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the failure of the LCP to assume a more democratic socialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
platform ushered in an era of political decline for the party. This, coupled with perceived Syrian domination of its leadership, led to increasing frustration among rank-and-file communists against the upper echelons of the party.
On September 13, 2000, a group calling itself "the reform and democracy forces in the Lebanese Communist Party" wrote an open letter demanding the resignation of party leadership. Led by Elias Atallah
Elias Atallah
Elias Atallah born in 1947, is a Lebanese politician, and an elected member of parliament during the 2005 elections. He is also the chairperson of the Democratic Left Movement, and a prominent member in the March 14 Alliance...
, a former guerrilla,Atallah helped lead the LCP in the 18-year resistance against Israeli forces in Lebanon. See South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000) the dissidents accused LCP leaders of subservience to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and called for full democratization of the party and abandonment of the Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
line. Atallah was expelled from the party on September 26 of that year.
These activists who split from the LCP, leftist student groups, and assorted intellectuals formed the Democratic Left Movement. An initial "temporary preparatory committee" for the movement emerged, which issued statements critical of Syrian intervention in Lebanon and called for the birth of a new left. In September 2004, the Democratic Left Movement was officially established. On October 17, at a ceremony commemorating its foundation attended by figures across the political spectrum, Elias Atallah declared that the movement was founded on three principles: "
Shortly after foundation, the DLM, Qornet Shehwan Gathering
Qornet Shehwan Gathering
The Qornet Shehwan Gathering is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the centre-right to the center-left. The organization is not a political party in the classical sense: its members belong to,...
, Democratic Renewal
Democratic Renewal (Lebanon)
The Democratic Renewal Movement is a reformist, secular political party in Lebanon.At the last legislative elections, in May and June 2005, the party was allied to the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance, led by Future Movement of late Prime minister Rafic Hariri, that won these elections. was founded...
, and Democratic Gathering formed a "multi-party opposition" to oppose the constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term of Emile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
. The informal coalition, which sought to defend the constitution and republic, appealed for free elections based on an equitable electoral law, curtailing corruption, fostering an independent judiciary, and reforming public administration. It was divided on the Syrian military presence in the country and on the use of arms to resolve the Shebaa farms dispute. Later, in December 2004 and again in February 2005, the movement was among an agglomeration of opposition parties to gather at Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
's Bristol Hotel and demand a "total withdrawal" of Syrian troops.
Cedar Revolution
The DLM actively participated in the 2005 Cedar RevolutionCedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
, a so-called colour revolution in which hundreds of thousands rallied against the Syrian occupation of Lebanon and its supporters in the Lebanese government. As the only leftist, nonsectarian element in the demonstrations, the DLM proved important for the opposition's public relations. Following the resignation of pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami
Omar Karami
Omar Abdul Hamid Karami was the Prime Minister of Lebanon on two separate occasions...
in a wave of demonstrations, DLM leader Elias Atallah is quoted as saying, "Today the government fell. Tomorrow, it's the one huddled in Anjar
Anjar, Lebanon
Anjar , also known as Haoush Mousa , is a town of Lebanon located in the Bekaa Valley. The population is 2,400, consisting almost entirely of Armenians. The total area is about twenty square kilometers...
," in reference to the Syrian chief of intelligence based in that city. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
credited Samir Kassir, a founder of the movement, with orchestrating the protests. On March 14, 2005, Atallah addressed the demonstrators, articulating the need for a free, sovereign, and united Lebanon. The DLM called on the protesters to press on to Baabda Palace
Baabda Palace
Baabda Palace is the official residence of the President of Lebanon. It is situated on a hill in the mountain town of Baabda overlooking Beirut. It is surrounded by the Ministry of Defence and various military posts...
, residence of the president, hoping to use the momentum to compel Emile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
to resign. However, resistance by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir prevented this, resulting in a temporary fallout between the DLM and opposition.
The movement remains critical of perceived Syrian interference in Lebanon, citing its participation in the March 14 Alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
parliamentary bloc as "defending Lebanese independence against the Syrian regime’s attacks and against Hezbollah and its allies’ attempts to impose their views and choices". It lists "attaining full independence of the country" as a political goal.
Kassir and Hawi assassinations
On June 2, 2005, Samir KassirSamir Kassir
Samir Kassir was a Lebanese professor of history at Saint-Joseph University and journalist. Born to a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother, Kassir received his degree in philosophy and political philosophy in 1984, in 1990, Kassir earned his PhD in Modern History also from the University of...
, a founder and leader of the movement, a prominent Lebanese journalist, and an outspoken critic of Syria was assassinated in a car bombing. DLM activists marched to the presidential palace
Baabda Palace
Baabda Palace is the official residence of the President of Lebanon. It is situated on a hill in the mountain town of Baabda overlooking Beirut. It is surrounded by the Ministry of Defence and various military posts...
in the Beirut suburb of Baabda
Baabda
Baabda is the capital city of Baabda District as well as the capital of Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon....
to lay a wreath representing guilt for Kassir's death. Elias Atallah, head of the DLM, explained that the wreath would "place the blame at the head of the joint Lebanese-Syrian security regime". Emile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
, then president, condemned the killing and told reporters, "My conscience is clear". After Kassir's death, membership in the DLM surged to a few thousand.
Less than one month later, on June 21, 2005, George Hawi
George Hawi
George Hawi was a Lebanese politician and former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party . He was assassinated in 2005.-Background:...
, a former secretary general of the LCP, was killed in a similar car bombing in Beirut. Hawi, an outspoken critic of Syria in recent years, actively campaigned for DLM leader Elias Atallah's candidacy in Lebanon's 2005 Elections.
Lebanese general election, 2005
The 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
Atallah and other allies of Hawi blamed the bombing on pro-Syrian forces in the Lebanese-security apparatus. In an interview with NOW Lebanon
NOW Lebanon
Now Lebanon is a Beirut-based Lebanese news web portal published in English and Arabic. It was initially launched in 2007 as part of the New Opinion Workshop .NOW Lebanon received five awards at the 2008 Lebanon Web Awards:...
, former DLM Vice President Ziad Majed explained, "Georges Hawi ... was trying to bring the communist party, or at least part of it, to join efforts with us [the DLM]."
In Al-Mustaqbal
Al-Mustaqbal (newspaper)
Al-Mustaqbal meaning The Future is an Arabic language daily newspaper in Lebanon. It was launched in 1995 by Rafik Hariri, former Prime Minister and assassinated leader of the Movement of the Future....
newspaper, Elias Atallah called for broadening the planned inquiries into Rakfik Harri's assassination to include the Kassir and Hawi bombings. He demanded Lahoud's resignation, saying the president was "incapable of protecting leadership figures in Lebanon."
Structure and composition
The DLM operates under a decentralized framework in which internal movements are encouraged and represented in a national body. The party's constituency elects a National Assembly, the principal decision-making body, through proportional representation, where every internal movement forms a list. Composed of 51 to 101 members, determined proportionately by the size of the constituency, it maintains political priorities, alliances, and rhetoric, and elects an Executive Committee of 9 to 15 members for daily organizational activities. Other organizational bodies include the Legal Committee and Financial Committee, and internal elections occur every three years.In October 2004, a 77-member constituent assembly elected a 15-member Executive Committee in the movement's first session of internal elections. Those elected included Elias Atallah as General Secretary (and leader), Nadim Abdel Samad as president, and Hikmat Eid, Anju Rihan, Ziad Majed and Ziad Saab as members. In April 2007, another internal election occurred. Two lists competed, one supported by Atallah and representing the leadership's rhetoric and the other an all-youth movement named Keep Left. While Atallah was reelected, Keep Left attained 30% of votes in Lebanon and 58% of votes abroad in an online poll, enabling the entire list to be elected. Ziad Majed, previously vice president of the DLM, and Elias Khoury, a prominent and founding member, chose not to participate for personal and political reasons.
Headquartered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, branches are permitted in any region of Lebanon or abroad. Provincial and district associations are largely autonomous. Youth members comprise a substantial portion of the movement; Elias Atallah stated that half of the party's members was 26 or younger.
The next General Assembly is set for 2010, three years after the 2007 General Assembly, as per the movement's bylaws.
Ideology
The DLM backs a European-style social democracySocial democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
to promote equality without hampering personal liberty or economic productivity. In an interview with NOW Lebanon
NOW Lebanon
Now Lebanon is a Beirut-based Lebanese news web portal published in English and Arabic. It was initially launched in 2007 as part of the New Opinion Workshop .NOW Lebanon received five awards at the 2008 Lebanon Web Awards:...
, DLM Former Vice President Ziad Majed classified the movement as center-left economically. However, he went on to say that the party adopted a decentralized model when founded to enable the coexistence of divergent views in which internal movements are encouraged. Its political manifesto identifies the movement as "beyond the requirement of singularity of thought" and open to leftists of all denominations. This emphasis on pluralism distinguishes the DLM from other leftist groups in Lebanon.
Domestic policy
The DLM is one of a few parties to propose secularizationSecularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
of the Lebanese state. This includes abolishing sectarian appropriation of public jobs, replacing the confessional
Confessionalism (politics)
Confessionalism is a system of government that refers to de jure mix of religion and politics. It can mean distributing political and institutional power proportionally among religious communities.-Debate:...
parliamentary system with a representative system, and permitting the execution of civil marriage
Civil marriage
Civil marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-History:Every country maintaining a population registry of its residents keeps track of marital status, and most countries believe that it is their responsibility to register married couples. Most...
on Lebanese soil. The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
magazine described the party as the "most avowedly secular component" of the March 14 Alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
.
The DLM appeals for administrative reform in the public sector through a decentralization, modernization, and mechanization plan. It defends human rights and calls for the respect of public freedoms and rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
. Listed within its platform is support for the marginalized and the abandonment of divisive particularism
Political particularism
Political particularism is the ability of policymakers to further their careers by appealing to narrow interests rather than the wider interests of the country...
. The movement supports prohibiting the discrimination of the disabled.
Foreign policy
On foreign policy, the DLM platform is more uniform. The party calls for a diverse, unified, and democratic Arab society. It opposes foreign interference in Lebanese politics and supports correcting imbalanced relations with Syria. In the Shebba farms dispute, the movement advocates resolving the identity of the territory through diplomacy. If the farms are determined Lebanese, the cabinet should authorize their "liberation" either diplomatically or militarily but through state institutions alone to allow the state to fulfill its role there. On the broader Arab-Israeli Conflict, the DLM appeals for the creation of a regional defense strategy which protects Lebanese sovereignty from Israeli aggression while promoting the interests of the region. It opposes American intervention in Iraq and elsewhere while also rejecting authoritarian regimes like the Baath. The party advocates democracy in Syria and associates with its democratic opposition, particularly the Syrian Democratic People's PartySyrian Democratic People's Party
The Syrian Democratic People's Party is a left-wing, democratic opposition party in Syria that is banned by the Syrian government....
.
Electoral results
In the legislative electionsLebanese general election, 2005
The 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
of May and June 2005, the DLM won one seat to become the first leftist political party in the Lebanese Parliament. Holding the Maronite seatEach religious community in Lebanon has an allotted number of seats in the Parliament. They do not represent only their co-religionists, however; all candidates in a particular constituency, regardless of religious affiliation, must receive a plurality of the total vote, which includes followers of all confessions, and represent them equally. See Confessionalism (politics)
Confessionalism (politics)
Confessionalism is a system of government that refers to de jure mix of religion and politics. It can mean distributing political and institutional power proportionally among religious communities.-Debate:...
of Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
, Elias Atallah represented the district as part of the March 14 Alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
, a pro-Western political coalition and parliamentary majority. Atallah received 89,890 votes to defeat rival Fayez Wajih Karam by 14,482 votes.
In the 2009 elections
Lebanese general election, 2009
-Background:Prior to the election, the process to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years was put into motion, but as this requires a constitutional amendment, it did not happen before the election.- Allocation of seats :...
, Atallah could not seek reelection because March 14 selected Samer Saadeh, a Kataeb Party
Kataeb Party
The Lebanese Phalanges , better known in English as the Phalange , is a traditional right-wing Lebanese political party. Although it is officially secular, it is mainly supported by Maronite Christians. The party played a major role in the Lebanese War...
candidate, to run on the coalition's list in the Tripoli district. Meanwhile, Amin Wehbi, another DLM candidate, won a Shiite parliamentary seat in West Bekaa on the March 14 coalition's list. Accruing 34,424 votes, 53% of ballots cast, Wehbi unseated incumbent Nasser Nasrallah of the Amal Movement
Amal Movement
Amal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
, who obtained 25,457 votes.
The influence of the DLM, however, stems not from its limited electoral successes but from "its articulation of anti-Syrian positions from a left
Criticism
Criticism of the DLM arises from both inside and outside the party. Internally, Ziad Majed, a former DLM vice president, admonished its current leadership for failing to act independently of the March 14 Alliance or develop and lobby for alternatives to the status quo. He also accused it of oversimplifying the issue of secularization and of lacking clarity and consistency in its positions. Externally, Socialist Worker, a socialist newspaper in the United Kingdom, charged the movement of complicity for civilian deaths in Lebanon's 2007 Nahr al-Bared Conflict2007 Lebanon conflict
The 2007 Lebanon conflict began when fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces on May 20, 2007 in Nahr al-Bared, an UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. It was the most severe internal fighting since Lebanon's 1975–90 civil...
. A Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail is a political, artistic and literary magazine based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Coverage includes political andliterary essays, art criticism, interviews, original fiction and poetry, and reviews....
editorial lamented that while the movement had been "a meeting ground between different factions" it has since become "sideline
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
, a literary and political magazine, labeled the DLM "stalled in disagreements and distractions" and chastised "a single seat in parliament and an ascendant Islamic resistance in the south are all the movement has to show for opposing many of Hariri’s policies, on the one hand, and campaigning against Syrian hegemony on the other".
External links
- Democratic Left Movement - official website
- March 14 Alliance - official website