Lebanese politicians are mired of late in the newly formed "Orthodox Gathering Election Law," a law proposed by Christian leaders that would treat Lebanon as a single electoral district with each sect electing its own leaders. The proposal was pushed forward by Free Patriotic leader Michel Aoun, his Shiite allies Hezbollah and Amal, as well as March 14 Christian leader Samir Geagea.

The law has been endorsed by Lebanon's Maronite leaders, including the Phalanges Party and the Marada Movement, but others rejected it, claiming it compromises the rights of Lebanon's Christian community. The Sunni Future Movemement dismissed the proposal; the party refuses to engage in elections governed by proportional representation as long as Hezbollah maintains its weapons. In an admirable move, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, announced that the law was unconstitutional.

Lebanon's civil society activists and bloggers tore the law apart, arguing that it breaches universal suffrage and undermines efforts to build a secular, modern state. Another blogger, Beirut Spring, argued that it represents "a public admission of defeat for the idea of Lebanon." One blogger, however, suggested that such a law would actually empower the secularists within each sect.

Some analysts argue that leaders like Samir Geagea may use this law as a bargaining chip until the various contenders agree on a favorable law for the upcoming parliamentary election. Even this, however, is problematic, for as Lebanese attempt to find ways to ease sectarian tensions in a region rife with conflict, such a law would antagonize voters and do away with the secular, civil state that many Lebanese aspire to build. As March 14 leaders move towards unifying their voice and reasserting their principles ahead of the upcoming election, such narrow political calculations may yet again alienate their electorate.

Neither the March 8 nor March 14 coalitions have put forward progressive electoral proposals despite the proportional representation laws suggested by independent electoral commissions. As neighboring Arab countries proceed with testing the limits of their newly founded democracies, Lebanon's own democracy appears to be at risk. It falls on the Lebanese to both call for and vote for a radically different system; voting the same way over and over again will not yield different outcomes.