January 20, 2025
By Nasser Kandil
If Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government does not strictly implement Article 95 of the Constitution to abolish sectarianism in public sector employment across all categories except the first, and does not apply rotation in first-category positions based on the principle that no sect is entitled to a specific position, then any talk of administrative reform will remain mere patchwork. Those who convened in Taif and drafted the National Accord Document unanimously agreed that these are the keys to reform. Furthermore, establishing an independent judiciary and cleansing it of corruption is the gateway to genuine reform.
What President Joseph Aoun articulated in his inaugural address on these two demands was clear and strong, reflecting a precise commitment to the National Accord Document. Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam’s track record on reformist demands indicates that he is among the few individuals who could assume this position without obstructing such reform steps.
The level of administrative reform required cannot tolerate anything less. If both presidents succumb to the traditional sectarian climate and backtrack on these commitments – driven by concerns that their respective sects might perceive a threat to privileges afforded by the current distribution of positions, particularly in “super first-category” roles like the Army Commander, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Director General of the Internal Security Forces, and the Public Prosecutor – then there is no hope for any steps to be genuinely called reform.
Administrative reform paves the way for political reform, again grounded in the implementation of the National Accord Document. Any discourse on updating electoral laws to ensure fair representation will remain superficial unless the government has the courage to send a draft law to Parliament based on Article 22 of the Constitution. This article calls for establishing a Senate representing the sects, tasked with handling issues of sectarian concern after these are clearly defined, while legislative authority is vested in a non-sectarian Parliament, preferably elected under a proportional system, either as a single nationwide district or, at minimum, divided into the five historical provinces.
The first government of this presidential term will be its mirror, not just in its composition but also in its work program. The choice of the prime minister appears optimal for pursuing practical, non-radical, and modest reform steps – merely implementing the Taif Agreement. If implementing Taif is impossible, then someone must have the courage to publicly admit this to the Lebanese people and announce an end to the ongoing pretense of commitment to an agreement that has become the country’s constitution, with its reformist provisions deliberately neglected for decades.
