Electoral Politics in the Middle East by Jacob M. Landau Ergun Özbudun Frank Tachau

Author:Jacob M. Landau, Ergun Özbudun, Frank Tachau [Jacob M. Landau, Ergun Özbudun, Frank Tachau]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
ISBN: 9781317413929
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-07-24T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Official Figures 50.00 53.30 53.80 52.50

Adjusted Figures 62.25 66.60 67.25 -

Table 6.2: Voting Participation According to Province (Not Adjusted)

Beirut Northern Lebanon Biqa' Mount Lebanon South Lebanon

35 53 55 59 60

Despite variations in socio-economic standards of different provinces, voting participation has not varied significantly from one region to another, leaving Beirut aside. In the 1972 elections, for instance, voting rates (in percentages) in the five provinces were as follows:11

The South and the North, which are two of the least advanced provinces socially and economically, show the highest and the lowest participation rates (leaving Beirut aside). Similarly, the advanced provinces of Beirut and Mount Lebanon show extremes of low and high voting participation. Annual increase in voting participation has been greater in socially and economically less advanced provinces.12 At the beginning of independence, voting rates in these provinces were lower and the rapid increase in voting participation is indicative of greater involvement and commitment to the system.

If it is comparatively established that less educated and lower-income people show less participation in politics, why then do not urban voters in Lebanon show greater voting participation rates than voters of southern districts and districts in the Biqa' where the population's educational and economic standards are lower than the national average? Indeed, why do rural voters in Turkey turn out in larger numbers than urban voters? Many suggestions have been made in this regard. The most common is that in the less advanced rural areas, political notables and chiefs drive villagers to vote. This observation cannot be discounted lightly and it was certainly true in many Egyptian villages during the constitutional period (1923-52). Yet the strength of the hypothesis for the contemporary period requires more careful examination and documentation than has been provided thus far. We may advance a modified version of this hypothesis which explains high voting turnout among rural people in terms of the close political and personal ties between leaders and ordinary villagers.13 It is not so much compulsion as social ties such as kinship, partisanship and patronage that define the linkages between leaders and voters in rural society. Such links are sustained by mutual benefits and exchange of services, between leaders and followers.

Other related hypotheses may be advanced to explain the high rates of voter participation in rural societies. Villagers, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, are often divided into factions that vie for status and seek to assert themselves over other groups in a variety of ways. Elections provide them with an opportunity to draw attention to themselves, demonstrate their strength and establish links with leaders or parties on the national scene. A detailed example of this case can be observed from a study of Saruhanh in south-western Turkey.14

It can be observed, moreover, that when political competition for leadership becomes more intense in rural areas, voting participation increases. An example is the Baalbek-Hermel district in north-east Lebanon, most of which is poor, rural and clan-dominated. Clan organisation and alliances, however, have shown signs of erosion in recent years and professionals have made a strong showing in the last two elections.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.