2018 Lebanese general election in Bekaa I explained

Country:Lebanon
Previous Election:2009
Next Election:2022
Election Date:23 March 2021[1]
Seats For Election:7 seats in the Lebanese parliament for the Bekaa I constituency
Turnout:54.52%
Party1:Lebanese Forces
Leader1:Samir Geagea
Percentage1:16.28
Seats1:2
Party2:Hezbollah
Leader2:Hassan Nasrallah
Percentage2:17.02
Seats2:1
Party3:Future Movement
Leader3:Saad Hariri
Percentage3:12.19
Seats3:1
Party4:Free Patriotic Movement
Leader4:Gebran Bassil
Percentage4:6.07
Seats4:1
Party5:Popular Bloc
Leader5:Myriam Skaff
Percentage5:11.87
Seats5:0
Leader8:Avigdor Lieberman
Percentage8:5.63
Seats8:7
Leader9:Bezalel Smotrich
Percentage9:5.12
Seats9:6
Colour9:
  1. 0071BD
Leader10:Ayman Odeh
Percentage10:4.82
Seats10:6
Leader11:Gideon Sa'ar
Percentage11:4.74
Seats11:6
Colour11:
  1. 0086AC
Leader12:Nitzan Horowitz
Percentage12:4.59
Seats12:6
Leader13:Mansour Abbas
Percentage13:3.79
Seats13:4
Colour13:
  1. 15793D
Party14:Telem
Leader14:Moshe Ya'alon
Last Election14:3
Party15:Jewish Home
Leader15:Hagit Moshe
Last Election15:1
Colour15:-->
Results Sec:Results
Prime Minister

Voting to elect seven members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Bekaa I district (one of three electoral districts in Bekaa region) on 6 May 2018, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 172,555 voters,[2] [3] out of whom 94,082 voted. The district elects 2 Greek Catholic parliamentarians, 1 Maronite, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Armenian Orthodox, 1 Shia and 1 Sunni.

Background

Local politics in Zahle has for long been dominated by the Skaff clan, ever since the French Mandate administration chose to benefit the family in order to counter the influence of other local elites.[4] But the election of Zahle politician Elias Hrawi as President of Lebanon challenged the position of the Skaff bloc leader Elias J. Skaff. In the 1990s pro-Syrian forces opted to rally behind the city mayor and lawyer Nicolas Fattouch, creating an alternative bloc of political power.[5] During the elections of 1992, 1996 and 2000 the influence of the Skaff family gradually declined.

Demographics

The electorate in the first Bekaa electoral district is predominately Christian.[6] Ahead of the 2018 elections, electoral district had 172,555 registered voters; 48,867 Sunni (28.32%), 27,538 Shia (15.96%), 906 Druze (0.53%), 32,295 Greek Catholic (18.72%), 27,049 Maronite (15.68%), 16,470 Greek Orthodox (9.54%), 8,604 Armenian Orthodox (4.99%), 6,646 Syriac Orthodox and Syriac Catholic (3.85%), 1,846 Armenian Catholic (1.07%), 1,349 Evangelical (0.78%) and 985 from other sects (0.57%).[7]

Vote

5 lists were registered in the electoral district for the 2018 Lebanese general election.[8] An alliance of Free Patriotic Movement, Future Movement, Tashnaq and independents was announced with the candidature name "Zahle for All".[9] [10] Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party fielded the "Zahle is Our Cause" list. There were also the "Popular Bloc" list led by Myriam Skaff, "Zahle Options and Decisions" led by Nicolas Fattouch (including a Hezbollah candidate) and the civil society list "We are All National". Ashraf Rifi did not field a list in Zahle, as he failed to reach an alliance with Kataeb and Lebanese Forces on the matter.[11] Commenting on the pre-electoral alliance-building in Zahle, an Al-Jazeera journalist noted "[b]izarre alliances competing for one eastern city's seven seats reflect maneuvering for votes in parliamentary elections".[12]

Candidates

Bold indicates incumbent parliamentarian, green winning candidate

ListVotes%SeatsGreek Catholic, 2 seatsMaronite, 1 seatGreek Orthodox, 1 seatSunni, 1 seatShia, 1 seatArmenian Orthodox, 1 seat
 "Zahle for All"36,39139.703Michel Skaff987 (1.08%)Assaad Nakad4,138 (4.51%)Nizar Dalloul(Future)

3,947 (4.31%)

Marie-Jeanne Bilezikjian3,851 (4.20%)
 "Zahle Options and Decisions"23,54625.692Nicolas Fattouch

5,737 (6.26%)

Khalil Hrawi343 (0.37%)Nassif Al-Tini(SSNP)[13]

528 (0.58%)

Wajih Araji592 (0.65%)
 "Zahle is Our Cause"18,70220.402Michel Fattouch552 (0.60%)Elie Maroni

(Kataeb)[14]

1,213 (1.32%)

Muhammad Ali Mita1,370 (1.49%)Amer Sabouri111 (0.12%)Boughous Kordian142 (0.15%)
 "Popular Bloc"10,88511.870Mariam Skaff

6,348 (6.92%)

Nicola Amorri95 (0.10%)Paul Charbel824 (0.90%)Nicola Saba271 (0.30%)Ahmed Ajoumi1,008 (1.10%)Osama Salhab172 (0.19%)George Bushikian1,845 (2.01%)
 "We are All National"1,5991.740Ghassan Maalouf651 (0.71%)Hanna Habib287 (0.31%)Vanda Chedid

(Green)[15]

268 (0.29%)

Houd Taaïmi201 (0.22%)Mohammad Hassan71 (0.08%)
Source: Al-Liwaa,[16] ACE Project,[17] Ministry of Interior and Municipalities[18] [19]

References

  1. Web site: Israel Election Results: Exit Polls and Real-time Vote Count Updates. Haaretz. 25 March 2021.
  2. Web site: Daily Star . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180824002309/https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2017/Jun-15/409723-analysts-skeptical-new-vote-law-will-lead-to-change.ashx . 2018-08-24 . 2022-07-29.
  3. Web site: Daily Star . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180422122809/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2018/Mar-07/440551-new-vote-law-leaves-lebanese-perplexed.ashx . 2018-04-22 . 2022-07-29.
  4. Le Monde. Elias Skaff, baron chrétien de la Békaa au service de l'opposition libanaise
  5. Book: Franck Mermier . Leaders et partisans au Liban . Sabrina Mervin . KARTHALA Editions . 2012 . 978-2-8111-0595-2 . 451.
  6. https://www.annahar.com/elections/district/4/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%D9%89 دائرة البقاع الاولى
  7. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Political Party Mapping in Lebanon Ahead of the 2018 Elections
  8. https://al-akhbar.com/Politics/247092 77 لائحة تُقصي 334 مرشحاً: لبنان إلى الانتخابات
  9. https://www.annahar.com/article/780948-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AD-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7--%D8%AC%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1 اعلان لوائح في صيدا - جزين وزحلة وعكار
  10. http://www.almodon.com/politics/2018/3/27/13-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83-%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87 13 لائحة في البقاع: أم معارك حزب الله
  11. https://al-akhbar.com/Politics/246768 زحلة دائرة المفاجآت... والأرمني عقدة
  12. Al-Jazeera. In Lebanon's Zahle, elections are local
  13. https://www.almarkazia.com/ar/news/show/10990/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%87-%D9%81%D9%8A-7-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8 "القومي" يعلن عن مرشحيه في 7 دوائر معاهداً العمل للبنان المواطنة والعدالة
  14. kataeb.org. Kataeb Party Announces Candidates for Parliamentary Polls
  15. L'Orient Le Jour. Zahlé, une bataille charnière qui gagne tous les jours en fièvre
  16. http://aliwaa.com.lb/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%B2%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%83%D9%84-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%B0%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1/ اعلان لائحة "زحلة للكل"... وهذه هي الأسماء
  17. Table Attached to Law 44 dated 17/6/2017 (Official Gazette no.27 dated 17 June 2017) - Distribution of Seats to the Confessions and Districts ACE Project
  18. http://elections.gov.lb/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/2018/%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AD/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%83%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87.aspx اللوائح المسجلَّة في دائرة البقاع الاولى كما نشرتها المديرية العامة للشؤون السياسية واللاجئين
  19. http://www.interior.gov.lb/AdsDetails.aspx?ida=281 نتائج الإنتخابات النيابية العامة 2018