New mayor of Tripoli Riyad Yamaq. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Riyad Yamaq, a former mayor of Tripoli, became the city's mayor again on Monday, replacing Ahmad Kamareddine, according to the state-run National News Agency.
On Jan. 29, the Ministry of Justice approved a decision made by the State Shura Council more than two months earlier to replace Kamareddine with Yamaq, following a lawsuit against Kamareddine filed by Yamaq with the Ministry of Interior.
The dispute between the two men started at least two years ago, when they both accused each other of corruption and mismanagement. On Aug. 1 2022, Yamaq, who was elected in 2019, was removed from office following a vote of no confidence following accusations of misappropriation of public funds.
On Oct. 19, 2022, Ahmad Kamareddine, who was mayor of Tripoli between 2016 and 2019 and who was also removed from office by a vote of no confidence back in 2019, was elected as mayor for a second time.
On Monday morning, a meeting for the transfer of leadership took place between Yamaq and Kamareddine in the municipal palace of Tripoli, according to NNA.
No municipal elections have been organized since 2016. Last year, the vote was postponed until May 31, 2024, after a bill passed by Parliament, on the basis of funding issues in the context of the current socioeconomic crisis.