Democratic Left Movement (Lebanon) - Structure and Composition

Structure and Composition

The DLM operates under a decentralized framework in which internal movements are encouraged and represented in a national body. The party's constituency elects a National Assembly, the principal decision-making body, through proportional representation, where every internal movement forms a list. Composed of 51 to 101 members, determined proportionately by the size of the constituency, it maintains political priorities, alliances, and rhetoric, and elects an Executive Committee of 9 to 15 members for daily organizational activities. Other organizational bodies include the Legal Committee and Financial Committee, and internal elections occur every three years.

In October 2004, a 77-member constituent assembly elected a 15-member Executive Committee in the movement's first session of internal elections. Those elected included Elias Atallah as General Secretary (and leader), Nadim Abdel Samad as president, and Hikmat Eid, Anju Rihan, Ziad Majed and Ziad Saab as members. In April 2007, another internal election occurred. Two lists competed, one supported by Atallah and representing the leadership's rhetoric and the other an all-youth movement named Keep Left. While Atallah was reelected, Keep Left attained 30% of votes in Lebanon and 58% of votes abroad in an online poll, enabling the entire list to be elected. Ziad Majed, previously vice president of the DLM, and Elias Khoury, a prominent and founding member, chose not to participate for personal and political reasons.

Headquartered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, branches are permitted in any region of Lebanon or abroad. Provincial and district associations are largely autonomous. Youth members comprise a substantial portion of the movement; Elias Atallah stated that half of the party's members was 26 or younger.

The General Assembly, which was set for 2010, took place in December 2011, and saw the emergence of a new leadership. Walid Fakhreddin was elected as the new Secretary General and the Executive Bureau was formed mainly from a new generation of leaders. However, this General Assembly was boycotted by many members who refused to have an election only assembly and were insisting on having a General Assembly that discusses the direction the movement should take. Some of the members who boycotted formed a current within the movement, called the Democratic Current in the Democratic Left Movement. It is to be noted that the bylaws of the Democratic Left Movement allows for internal currents and factions to operate freely.