BEIRUT — Just before midnight Monday, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced another set of results of Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, this time for the North III and South III constituencies, covering 21 seats in the legislature.
Two opposition candidates, Elias Jaradeh and Firas Hamdan, won victories in South III, where Hezbollah and the Amal Movement’s political strength was not seen as absolute as in neighboring South II that encompasses Sour and Zahrani.
Marwan Kheireddine, the chairman of AM Bank and a former minister failed in his bid for election, following on the heels of his brother-in-law, Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan, a Druze political establishment figure who was unseated earlier Monday in Aley.
In Zgharta, the hometown of the establishment Frangieh family, opposition candidate Michel Douaihy of the “Shamaluna” list.
So far, the Interior Ministry has also announced results for the Beirut I, Mount Lebanon I, Mount Lebanon II, Mount Lebanon III, Mount Lebanon IV, Bekaa I, Bekaa II, Bekaa III, South I and South II district, for a total of 99 seats.
The victors of the remaining 29 seats in the North I, North II and Beirut II constituencies have yet to be announced.
The winners in North III and South III follow below:
South III
In South III, which includes the districts of Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, and Marjayoun-Hasbaya, eleven seats were up for grabs — eight for Shiites, one Greek Orthodox, one Druze, one Sunni.
The winners were as follows for Marjayoun-Hasbaya:
-Elias Jaradeh, who ran on the “Together Towards Change” list supported by opposition groups. The surprise victor won a Greek Orthodox seat.
-Ali Fayyad, an incumbent Hezbollah MP who ran on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by his party and the Amal Movement. Fayyad, who won a Shiite seat, was first elected to Parliament in 2009.
-Ali Hassan Khalil, an incumbent Amal MP who also ran on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by his party and Hezbollah. Khalil, who was first elected to Parliament in 1996, is one of the former ministers targeted in Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut Port explosion.
-Qassem Hashem, an incumbent Baath Party MP who caucused with Amal in the 2018 Parliament. Hashem, who was first elected to the Parliament in 2000, ran for a Sunni seat on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by the Amal-Hezbollah tandem.
-Firas Hamdan, a newcomer to Parliament, who ran for the Druze seat on the “Together Towards Change” list supported by opposition groups.
The winners were as follows for Bint Jbeil:
-Ayoub Hmayed, an incumbent Amal Movement MP first elected to the Parliament in 1992, who ran for a Shiite seat on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by his party and Hezbollah. Hamyed was social affairs minister in Rafik Hariri’s 1996-1998 cabinet and energy minister in Hariri’s 2003-2004 government.
-Hassan Fadlallah, an incumbent Hezbollah MP first elected to the Parliament in 2005, who also ran for a Shiite seat on the “Hope and Loyalty” list.
-Ashraf Beydoun, a newcomer to the Parliament elected to a Shiite seat on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by the Hezbollah-Amal tandem. Beydoun is affiliated with Amal.
The winners were as follows for Nabatieh:
-Mohammad Raad, an incumbent Hezbollah MP who first won a seat in Parliament in 1992, won a Shiite seat running on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by his party and Amal. Raad heads Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc.
-Hani Qobeisi, an incumbent Amal MP who first won a seat in Parliament in 2009, also won a Shiite seat running on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by his party and Hezbollah.
-Nasser Jaber, an Amal-affiliated newcomer to the Parliament who ran on the “Hope and Loyalty” list supported by Amal and Hezbollah.
North III
In North III, which is made up of the Batroun, Koura, Bsharri, and Zgharta districts, there were ten seats up for grabs — seven for Maronites and three for Greek Orthodox.
The winners are as follows for Batroun:
-Gebran Bassil, an incumbent MP who leads the FPM and won a Maronite seat. Bassil, one of the leading figures in Lebanon’s political establishment and multiple-time former minister, was on the “We Will Stay Here” list supported by his party.
-Ghayath Yazbeck, a newcomer to parliament who ran on “The Pulse of the Strong Republic” list supported by the LF. Yazbeck won a Maronite seat.
The winners are as follows for Zgharta:
-Tony Frangieh, an incumbent MP and the son of Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh. Tony won a Maronite seat running on the “Unity of the North” list supported by his party and Asaad Hardan’s wing of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
-Michel Moawad, who won a seat in the 2018 Parliamentary elections before resigning after the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion. Moawad won a Maronite seat running on the “The North of Confrontation,” supported by the Kataeb party.
-Michel Douaihy, a newcomer to Parliament running on the “Shamaluna” list supported by opposition groups, who won a Maronite seat.
The winners are as follows for Koura:
-Fadi Karam, who was elected to Parliament in a July 2012 by-election and failed to win one of the Greek Orthodox seats in the 2018 elections. Karam ran on “The Pulse of the Strong Republic” list supported by the LF.
-George Atallah, an incumbent FPM parliamentarian first elected in 2018 who ran on the “We Will Stay Here” list supported by his party. Atallah won a Greek Orthodox seat.
-Adib Abdelmassih, a newcomer to Parliament who ran on “The North of Confrontation” list supported by the Kataeb party and Michel Moawad. Abdelmassih won a Greek Orthodox seat.
The winners are as follows for Bsharri:
-Sethrida Geagea, an incumbent Maronite MP for the Lebanese Forces first elected to Parliament in 2005. Geagea ran on “The Pulse of the Strong Republic” list supported by her party.
Melhem (William) Tawk, a newcomer to Parliament who ran for a Maronite seat on the “Unity of the North” list supported by his party and Asaad Hardan’s wing of the SSNP.