BEIRUT: Lebanon held the third round of municipal and mayoral elections on Sunday.
Sunday’s vote was held in the governorates of Beirut, Bekaa, and Baalbek-Hermel.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam inspected the central operations room overseeing the electoral process at the Ministry of Interior and across various electoral centers in Beirut.
Defense Minister Michel Menassa and Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar accompanied him.
After casting his ballot in Beirut, Salam said that the elections provided an opportunity for citizens to express their true wishes for the city and voiced hope for a high voter turnout.
He stated that the people of Beirut should not miss the chance to decide what kind of city they want.
“I urge them to participate in the elections in large numbers.”
Salam affirmed that the people of Beirut “are capable of ensuring representation for everyone in the municipal council.”
He said that the new municipal council is not obligated to support the government’s efforts; instead, it is the government’s responsibility to meet all the needs of the people of Beirut.
He added: “This is a developmental choice par excellence.”
In an afternoon appeal, Salam repeated his call for voters to cast their ballots, stating that the voter turnout in Beirut remained low.
MPs supporting the parties’ list in Beirut expressed concern about the low turnout during the day.
Security and military forces deployed personnel to assure the safety of polling stations and the routes leading to them.
The Lebanese Army Command announced that an army unit in Baalbek and the Douris area arrested four people found in possession of combat pistols, a quantity of hashish, and captagon pills.
In an official statement, the Army Command warned citizens “against creating trouble, firing guns, and endangering the lives of others.”
It also suspended “all gun licenses in the governorates where elections are being held for 48 hours,” stressing that it “will not hesitate to pursue and arrest all those who disrupt security across all Lebanese territory.”
During the voting process, Israeli reconnaissance planes flew over Beirut.
As the southern governorates and Nabatieh prepare for the final round of parliamentary elections on Sunday, an Israeli drone targeted a Rapid car on Sunday on Beit Yahoun Road near a Lebanese army checkpoint, wounding the driver and a soldier manning the checkpoint.
Sunday’s elections were described as “fierce,” with intense competition between political party lists and civil society.
Voters extensively crossing out party candidates cast doubt on the parties’ ability to maintain public support and raised concerns over Beirut’s ability to uphold its model of coexistence.
For example, Sunni voters were striking off Shiite candidates affiliated with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, as well as Christian candidates affiliated with the Lebanese Forces and their allies.
The capital experienced intense competition between two main lists: the “Beirut Unites Us” list, which includes candidates from political parties with significant discord, under the slogan “Preserving Equal Representation of Muslims and Christians,” and the “Beirut Madinati” list, supported by Change deputies.
The Forces of Change is a parliamentary bloc that comprises multiple reformist parties and independent MPs.
Other lists were also running in the electoral race.
They include a list of candidates affiliated with the Future Movement, which suspended its political activity, and candidates of the Islamic Group, as well as other civilian lists.
The civilian voter turnout remained low until 2 p.m., not exceeding 13 percent.
Voters affiliated with Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, and the Al-Ahbash Association were expected to arrive at polling centers in groups before voting concluded at 7 p.m., aiming to tip the balance in favor of their party list.
Abu Al-Abed Al-Nuri, a voter in one of the Al-Mazraa electoral centers, said that “he composed his list by himself, choosing only Sunni candidates.
“All parties have wronged Beirut and caused disastrous consequences; however, they have now united and insist on sharing the benefits while ignoring our demands and problems,” he added.
MP Fouad Makhzoumi said: “We are trying to impose equal representation in voting.”
MP Hagop Terzian from the Free Patriotic Movement bloc stated: “Parties are not from Mars; they are part of Beirut and have allied to ensure equal representation.”
Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri said: “We insist on equal representation. Cross-outs are Beirut’s enemy.”
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged voters in Beirut to support the parties’ list “because the elections in Beirut reflect on coexistence in Lebanon, as it is the capital that represents the country’s main face.”
Competition for municipal seats was also fierce in the Bekaa, particularly in Zahle and Baalbek, raising voter turnout to 30 and 40 percent during the day.
Several people, including two members of the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch, were injured in Zahle during a raid conducted by a patrol from the branch, supported by a Lebanese Army unit, on a Hezbollah electoral office in the area on suspicion of bribery.
Around 15 young men were present at the site during the raid.
The permits of several representatives for the non-partisan Change list in the city of Baalbek disappeared.
It was revealed that the person who hid the permits — and who was arrested by the security forces — was working for the Hezbollah list in the area.
