The Daily Star - Shami seeks UNDP help to enable expatriate voting - October 29, 2010

BEIRUT: Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami sought the help Thursday of the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Marta Ruedas to offer his ministry assistance in implementing advanced technology and staying connected with Lebanese missions abroad.

Shami and Ruedas discussed the UNDP’s readiness to offer the Foreign Ministry technical assistance, allowing it to be electronically linked with its diplomatic missions.

Shami praised the cooperation between his ministry and the UNDP through the “LIVE LEBANON” project aimed at mobilizing the Lebanese diaspora in supporting the local development of deprived areas in their home country.

Earlier in October, Shami sent a report to the Cabinet saying that due to several technical reasons his ministry was still not prepared to ensure the voting of non-resident Lebanese in the 2013 parliamentary elections.

The report by the Foreign Ministry said that according to article 114 of law 25, issued in 2008, the institution had the duty of preparing voting lists for expatriates every year – a task which many Lebanese diplomatic missions could not carry out due to the lack of sufficient human resources.
According to the report, the lack of an internet network connecting the central administration with embassies negatively affects the speed and accuracy of communications between Lebanon and the outside world.

The March 14 forces chapter in France called Thursday on Shami and Speaker Nabih Berri to grant Lebanese expatriates their right to vote, as stipulated in the presidential oath and the ministerial statement.

“Granting expatriates, who are an integral part of the nation, the vote is a natural and constitutional right due to the economic and developmental implications it would have on Lebanon,” the chapter said in a letter addressed to Berri. –The Daily Star