Beirut's municipality. (Credit: NNA)
The Grand Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, said that Beirut's municipality cannot be subjected to “fragmentation” in the upcoming municipal elections in May, according to the state-run National News Agency. Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement MP Nicolas Sahnaoui warned that “power-sharing in Beirut is at risk” and called on all officials, from the president to Parliament, to “take responsibility and ensure the continuation of the long-standing power-sharing system.”
“The power-sharing in Beirut's municipality between Muslims and Christians is secure,” Derian assured.
"Municipal and electoral elections are a national entitlement, and Dar Al-Fatwa is impartial to all candidates across all Lebanese regions. Every candidate is considered one of its own, and there is no distinction between them."
The polemic surrounding the Beirut municipality centers on the issue of power-sharing between the city's Muslim and Christian populations, a system that has been in place for over 200 years, even during the Ottoman era. This power-sharing model, known as muhasasa, ensures political and sectarian balance.
In Beirut, the local governance structure is particular: the authority of the mayor, who is an elected official, is subordinate to a state agent affiliated with the Interior Ministry — a phenomenon often referred to as the “two-headedness” of Beirut.
The executive branch within the municipality is entrusted to the governor, while the 24-member city council holds legislative power.
The council is headed by a president (the mayor, although the post holder does not formally hold the title) who has no means of implementing decisions adopted by the council without the governor’s approval.
Derian stated, "We hope the elections will be carried out with transparency, freedom, and democracy, and that the Lebanese citizen alone has the right to choose and elect whoever they deem fit for the responsibility."
He stated, "The government, both the president and members, must ensure the safety of the Lebanese people ... and ensure that Lebanon remains a haven for freedom and a sanctuary for peace and dialogue among its national components."
"We ask Allah to protect Lebanon and its people from the Israeli enemy that seeks to harm it, and to show mercy to the Palestinian people, especially those in Gaza who are facing genocide, destruction, displacement, and starvation, and are confronting this war with patience, determination, and faith," he added. "We pray for the martyrs' souls to rest in peace and for the wounded to recover quickly. We call on the international community, particularly the major countries in the Security Council, to pressure the Israeli aggressors to stop the genocide, siege, and killing."
FPM MPs voice concern
MPs Nicolas Sahnaoui and Edgard Traboulsi from the Free Patriotic Movement also held a press conference at FPM’s Beirut office in Achrafieh to discuss the upcoming Beirut municipal elections.
Sahnaoui emphasized that the “power-sharing in Beirut is at risk” and urged all officials, from the president to the parliament, to “take responsibility and ensure the continuation of the long-standing power-sharing system.”
He pointed out that “without a legal framework, the proper balance between Muslims and Christians in Beirut could be jeopardized.”
Sahnaoui called for a law guaranteeing equal representation, either through dividing the municipality into two districts or ensuring balanced election results.
He warned that without consensus, the risk of undermining the power-sharing system increases, and the country may face a greater crisis. He urged citizens to pressure their representatives to act swiftly to preserve Beirut's balance.
On the other hand, Traboulsi stressed “the importance of maintaining Beirut's sectarian balance to avoid the divisions that have plagued other Lebanese cities like Tripoli.”
He called on Parliament and the President to act quickly on proposed legislation to “ensure Beirut remains united.”
Traboulsi said that the diverse and inclusive nature of Beirut must be protected through legal guarantees and warned against attempts to marginalize any group in the city, which would affect Lebanon as a whole.
Both MPs urged their fellow lawmakers to support legislation that safeguards Beirut's unity and prevents any potential fragmentation.
In July 2022, three MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) presented a bill providing for a municipal split between the Christian-majority East and the Muslim-majority West, with a capital-wide mega council to oversee the whole city.
Again, the official reason was technical: “To improve services to citizens and allow for good management, the municipality must be divided in two,” FPM MP Nicolas Sehnaoui told L’Orient Today.
Though under the guise of decentralization, the project cannot hide its sectarian aims. For many observers, the proposal is a thinly-veiled attempt to institutionalize a confessional logic inherited from the civil war.
The project threatens to “take us back 30 years,” Waddah Sadek, an MP affiliated with the protest movement, told L’Orient Today.
Moreover, Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar chaired a preparatory meeting for the municipal and electoral elections Monday morning at his office, according to NNA.
Hajjar also called for "complete coordination between the governors and the Internal Security Forces to ensure the smooth running of the election process and to maintain security."
The next municipal elections are scheduled for May. This election has been postponed year after year since 2022 by Parliament due to the socio-economic crisis and in 2024 because of the war in south Lebanon.