On Saturday May the 28th 2011, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) celebrated the closure of its project “Electoral reform advocacy for sustainable democracy in Lebanon” funded by the European Union.
LADE held a closing ceremony attended by members and friends along with a number of young people who participated in this project and others who supported the project and the association.
Mr. Osama Safa, LADE Secretary General, initiated the ceremony by welcoming all the guests, and presenting the importance of the project and how LADE had a benefit from it. During the 2 years dedicated for the project, the association cooperated with 6 youth groups in the Lebanese Mouhafazats (provinces) implanting democratic principles and reform standards the association is calling for.
Mr. Safa extended his gratitude for the cooperation between the association and the European Union assuring that it wasn’t the first and won’t be the last.
From his part Mr. Diego Escalona, Head of the Operations section at the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, underlined that "free and fair elections are the basis of long-term political stability and economic growth. (…) Democracy is not just about the possibility of electing representatives but also about building the right institutions and attitudes".
He also underlined that "while voting takes place on one day, electoral reform has to take place every day". He added that "the EU hopes that the next government will address promptly the issue of election reform since the remaining challenges to bring the next electoral framework in line with international standards need timely preparation and complex technical measures in order to be rolled out in time for the 2013 national elections".
Then, the project’s coordinator detailed the accomplished work and its stages, and assured that the efforts won’t stop there, Work will pursue through the next year by the reactivation of communication and networking with the targeted groups, hoping that they will spread their electoral culture in their regions and exert pressure towards introducing electoral reforms before the 2013 parliamentary elections.
The project’s coordinator also talked about the electoral training manual that was issued by the project including a number of useful training techniques and mechanisms useful for the target group of the project as well as for all interested in the domain. In this project LADE also developed a reform brochures explaining each electoral reform, in a simple language that targets all the factions of the Lebanese society.
Mr. Osama Safa, LADE Secretary General, initiated the ceremony by welcoming all the guests, and presenting the importance of the project and how LADE had a benefit from it. During the 2 years dedicated for the project, the association cooperated with 6 youth groups in the Lebanese Mouhafazats (provinces) implanting democratic principles and reform standards the association is calling for.
Mr. Safa extended his gratitude for the cooperation between the association and the European Union assuring that it wasn’t the first and won’t be the last.
From his part Mr. Diego Escalona, Head of the Operations section at the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, underlined that "free and fair elections are the basis of long-term political stability and economic growth. (…) Democracy is not just about the possibility of electing representatives but also about building the right institutions and attitudes".
He also underlined that "while voting takes place on one day, electoral reform has to take place every day". He added that "the EU hopes that the next government will address promptly the issue of election reform since the remaining challenges to bring the next electoral framework in line with international standards need timely preparation and complex technical measures in order to be rolled out in time for the 2013 national elections".
Then, the project’s coordinator detailed the accomplished work and its stages, and assured that the efforts won’t stop there, Work will pursue through the next year by the reactivation of communication and networking with the targeted groups, hoping that they will spread their electoral culture in their regions and exert pressure towards introducing electoral reforms before the 2013 parliamentary elections.
The project’s coordinator also talked about the electoral training manual that was issued by the project including a number of useful training techniques and mechanisms useful for the target group of the project as well as for all interested in the domain. In this project LADE also developed a reform brochures explaining each electoral reform, in a simple language that targets all the factions of the Lebanese society.
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