North Lebanon municipal elections marred by some clashes
Voting got underway Sunday in north Lebanon’s municipal and mayoral elections, which witnessed a higher number of clashes compared to last Sunday’s polls in the Mount Lebanon governorate.
Voting turnout at 11:00 am was the highest in the Batroun district with 13.23% while it was the lowest in Tripoli with 3.49%. It meanwhile reached 11.70% in Akkar, 9.28% in Zgharta, 7.96% in Bsharri, 10.34% in Minieh-Dinniyeh and 9.86% in Koura.
A consensual electoral list comprising both the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces is running in the elections in Batroun, while in Zgharta a list backed by the Marada Movement is competing against a civil society list that is expected to receive support from MPs Michel Mouawad and Michel Doueihi.
Speaking in Tripoli, Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said he hopes “enthusiasm will not turn into violence that affects the electoral process.”
“We witnessed some clashes during the day and electoral fever in several areas took a violent turn, prompting the security forces and army to intervene to control the situations,” Hajjar added.
The municipal elections are the first vote since a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah and after a new national government was formed.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
President Joseph Aoun has emphasized the vote's importance to "give confidence to the people and internationally that Lebanon is rebuilding its institutions and is back on the right track."
Aoun was elected in January and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a government the following month, ending a more than two-year vacuum as Lebanon's balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The new authorities have promised reforms in order to gain the trust of the international community, as well as unlock billions in bail-out funds amid a five-year economic crisis. They have also vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms.
Hezbollah was left badly weakened in more than a year of hostilities with Israel, with a slew of commanders including the group's longtime chief, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, killed and its strongholds pummeled in the south and east and in south Beirut.
Israel has continued to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire and still has troops in five areas it considers "strategic".
In April 2024, the municipal polls were postponed amid the hostilities, which escalated in September into a major Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion before the ceasefire about two months later.
Religious and political affiliations are usually key electoral considerations in multi-confessional Lebanon, where power is shared along sectarian lines.
Municipal ballots however provide a greater margin for local community dynamics to play a role.
Polls will close at 7:00 pm on Sunday.
Beirut and the country's eastern Bekaa Valley area set to go to the polls on May 18 while voters in the heavily damaged south will cast ballots on May 24.
Source: Naharnet
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