Election posters in anticipation of the 2018 legislative election in a district of Beirut. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — MP Fouad Makhzoumi announced Thursday his National Dialogue party-backed candidate list in the Beirut II constituency for parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15.
Here’s what we know:
• The list, called “Beirut needs a heart,” includes 11 candidates distributed as over six Sunni, two Shiite, one Druze, one Protestant and one Greek Orthodox seats. The Sunni candidates are Hassan Kachli, Karim Chbaklo, Mazen Chbaro, Abdellatif Itani and Nabil Naja. The two Shiite female candidates on the list are Lina Hamdane and Olfat Sabeh. The remaining three names are Zeina Mounzer for the Druze seat, Omar Dabghi for the Protestant seat, and Zeina Majdalani for the Greek Orthodox seat.
• “A clear program unifies us [as a list] which prioritizes restricting the possession of weapons in the hands of the Lebanese state,” Makhzoumi said, during the candidate announcement ceremony in reference to Hezbollah’s possession of weapons outside of the state.
• “This project is also about the financial and economic situation and the return of stolen money,” Makhzoumi continued, before saying to his supporters, “Can we recover this money? Of course!”
• Makhzoumi continued, “We faced them when they were in the majority … For four years, we have challenged contemptuous leaders and confronted Hezbollah.” In 2018, Hezbollah won four seats in Beirut II, as part of an alliance with Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement.
• Over the years, Sunni seats in Beirut II have been dominated by the Future Movement led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The party won six seats in the constituency in 2018. In January, Hariri announced that he is stepping aside from political life and asked his party to do the same, opening the field in Beirut II given the absence of a strong alternative to the Future Movement’s candidates.
• The list, called “Beirut needs a heart,” includes 11 candidates distributed as over six Sunni, two Shiite, one Druze, one Protestant and one Greek Orthodox seats. The Sunni...