Second phase of Lebanese municipal election sees stiff competition in Christian areas

Malek Mohamad Mosbah in Beirut contributed to this report
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-05-11

[JOSEPH FADDOUL] Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri votes in Beirut.

The results of the second phase of the Lebanese municipal election brought balance back to the political map, following last week's win of lists backed by the March 14 coalition.

In Beirut, where 450,000 voters are registered, the turnout for the Sunday (May 9th) vote did not exceed 21%, according to the Interior Ministry. Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement boycotted the municipal council election and fielded candidates in the Mukhtar race only.

While the lack of competition was evident in Beirut where Saad Hariri's backed unity list swept the vote, stiff competition occurred in the predominantly Christian neighbourhoods for Mukhtar seats between Michel Aoun's FPM and the March 14 list.

Only seven of Aoun's list won seats, compared with 21 for the March 14 coalition. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hailed the results as a referendum on popularity. He said they show that the majority of Lebanese Christians favour the March 14 alliance.

Aoun's win was possible because of an alliance with the Armenian Tashnag party in the Mukhtar race. However, the Armenian party aligned with the Future Movement in the municipal elections in the rest of Beirut's constituencies.

Minister of State for Parliament Affairs and MP from Ashrafiyeh Michel Faraoun said that "this result is a source of pride for the 14 March coalition, especially its Christian groups, and Beirut MPs in particular."

"With this result, we won more than 75% of the Mukhtar seats in those areas despite the attempts that aimed to remove the area's residents. We wish this battle could have been focused on development. Some, however, wanted to turn it into a political battle. In any case, we hope that Beirut's municipal council will serve the people of Beirut effectively," he added.

MP Antoine Zahra, a member of the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, called on everyone to accept the results of the local elections "because we are in a democratic process whose results must be acknowledged by everyone."

But David Nassar, a supporter of Michel Aoun's group, said, "Aoun's decision to take part in the Mukhtar election and to boycott the municipal elections was aimed at showing that the real battle was in this area". He said that an adequate Christian representation in Beirut is not possible because of the overwhelming Muslim vote.

"The issue is not about a Mukhtar from here and another from there. It indicates that the Christian street witnesses a momentum that is far from the demographic hegemony," he said.

In the Beqaa province, voters continued last week's trend to favour different alliances than what they voted for during the parliamentary election last year. Voter turnout reached 49%.

March 14 failed to carry Zahle and some of the Sunni towns in Western Beqaa.

"The result in Zahleh confirmed that former Minister Elie Skaff took revenge after the parliamentary elections through the list he supported. He restored his status in his town," journalist Manal Abou-Abs said.

"The credit goes to Skaff since his electoral machine began to operate around one month before the elections at a time when his opponents had not yet formed a coalition," she added.

The Hizbullah-backed March 8 list won several municipalities in western Beqaa, dealing losses to Hariri's Future movement. The Hizbullah and Amal coalition also won in areas such as northern Biqaa and Baalbek-Hermel province. Surprisingly, Hizbullah lost in some parts of Hermel where clan-backed lists carried the vote.

The third phase of the election will take place next Sunday.

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