Candidates from the "National Moderation" list running in the constituency of North Lebanon I. (Credit: Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A list of candidates for the May 15 parliamentary elections dubbed “National Moderation” was registered Thursday in the North Lebanon I district, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the area reported.
Here’s what we know:
• The list includes sitting MPs Walid Baarini and Hady Hobeiche, both of whom are members of the Future Movement-affiliated parliamentary bloc. The Future Movement’s head, Saad Hariri, earlier this year announced he would not run in the upcoming polls and asked any members of the party wishing to be candidates to resign their party membership.
• The North Lebanon I constituency, corresponding to the Akkar District, comprises seven seats: three Sunni, two Greek Orthodox, one Maronite and one Alawite. Walid Baarini, Mohamad Sleiman and Ibrahim Maasoumi are the candidates for the three Sunni seats. The list’s candidates for the two Greek Orthodox seats are Saji’ Attiye and Julie Hanna. The Alawite seat will be vied for by Ahmad Rostom and the Maronite seat by Hady Hobeiche.
• The same district is one of the main fiefs of the Future Movement. Despite the new electoral law which disadvantaged the party in the 2018 elections, the party and its allies won five out of seven seats (three Sunni, one Maronite and one Greek Orthodox), one of which was won by a Lebanese Forces candidate. The opposing Free Patriotic Movement list won the two remaining seats (Greek Orthodox and Alawite).
• Radical change could occur in the 2022 elections as a result of the Future Movement’s boycott. The Christian minority in the district leans towards the FPM, which could mean the Lebanese Forces losing the seat they secured in 2018 unless they have substantial Sunni support. Akkar’s proximity to Syria is also another factor to consider. Even though the constituency is predominantly Sunni, Hezbollah has shown interest in the area, sending aid after the August 2021 Tleil explosion and supplying the area with fuel last year, which raises questions about the party’s potential interest in garnering support in the area.