The Alternative Syndicate of Press (ASP) filed a lawsuit through colleague Elissar Kobeissi -candidate for the Lebanese Press Editors’ Syndicate (LPES) elections- to annul the results of the LEPS’ elections that were held on 1/12/2021. It also demanded the amendment of articles in the LEPS’ bylaws, to appoint an expert to inspect the register and to oblige the LEPS to disqualify whoever is found to be affiliated in violation of the law.
The lawsuit filed by the legal advisor of the ASP, lawyer Farouk al-Moughrabi, at the Elementary Court in Baabda – the chamber dealing with trade union cases- was based on the report of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), which monitored the electoral process at the request of our colleague Elissar Koubeissi and four other independent candidates, in addition to violations that the ASP observed.
These violations fell under three categories:
- Violations recorded during and before the electoral process, affecting
the integrity and transparency of the process. - Defects in the bylaws, contradicting the principles of fair and impartial elections.
- Legal Violations in the LEPS’ Register.
The main reasons behind the lawsuit are:
- Non-observance of the principles of transparency and integrity, given
the assignment of the president of LEPS and some of the nominated
council members with the task of supervising and organizing the
electoral process. - Attempting to prevent colleague Elissar Koubeissi from exercising her basic rights, by delaying the delivery of the LEPS’ register to her, in violation of Article 23 of the LEPS’ bylaws.
- Threatening colleague Koubeissi -when she formally claimed her rights- to prosecute her in the event of any “judicial adventure”, which was described by LADE as “intimidation”.
- Existence of a number of illegal affiliations to the LEPS, in clear violation of Article 22 of the Publications Law and Article 6 of the By law.
- Launching of the electoral process before the quorum was complete.
- Failure to establish a fair mechanism for the candidates in arranging the lists on the ballot papers.
- Clear violation of the principle of secrecy of the vote, through voting outside the voting booth and the presence of more than one voter inside the booth.
- Following the orders of the president of the LEPS, the voting of two persons whose names were not on the electoral lists, under the title: “Inadvertently dismissed.”
- Moral pressure on voters, through the distribution of a member of the Election Supervision Committee of the president’s list at the main reception table, and their escorting some voters to the ballot box.
- A number of candidates breaking the electoral silence by making statements to the media inside the polling stations.
Based on all of the above-mentioned reasons and several others, through
this lawsuit, the ASP demands:
- The annulment of the results of the LEPS’ elections held on 12/1/2021.
- Compelling the current LEPS council to amend Articles No. 29, 27, 32, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20 within a month from the decision notification date.
- Assigning an expert to inspect the Register and conduct an investigation to ascertain the legality of the members’ affiliation and submit their report to the court. This will oblige the LEPS to dismiss the affiliation of members found to be affiliated in violation of the law.