The FL leader, Samir Geagea. (Credit: X account @DrSamirGeagea.)
Reacting to the municipal elections, the first round of which was launched on Sunday in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, President Joseph Aoun congratulated the winners, reminding them that taking responsibility begins "after the elections."
In a brief statement, President Aoun, who oversaw the launch of the polls on Sunday morning from several administrations, welcomed the fact that "Lebanon is moving resolutely forward on the path to recovery, despite the crises and challenges it has faced."
"Taking responsibility begins after the elections," he added, calling on the new municipal councilors and mokhtars to "serve citizens and respond to their needs," which "constitutes the fundamental objective" of their mandate.
Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), also welcomed the initial results of Mount Lebanon’s municipal elections, saying they show growing support for the LF and the Kataeb Party as the month-long voting process begins.
In a statement, Geagea stated that this "significant change" achieved in the new municipal councils," especially in the major cities, clearly indicates that citizens, regardless of political affiliation, are no longer satisfied with corruption or mismanagement at all levels."
Geagea stressed that these results are "hopeful and confirm that Lebanon has entered a new phase," stating that the elections in other regions will not be less promising."
The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, said that his party "demonstrated its ability to be the main driving force behind elections that were about families and development."
"When we say we won, we won with the families, by supporting their lists. No one can deny our role and support. The FPM recorded better results than in the previous election (in 2016), even though it lost in several districts," Bassil said at a press conference.
"The FPM is present in 203 municipalities, with 639 winners ... These figures show our strong presence in Mount Lebanon," added Bassil, who said he had cooperated with the Murr family in Metn.
The FPM leader also welcomed the scores obtained in Hadath, Kahaleh, and Deir al-Qamar, stating that he knew "in advance the results for Jounieh, Jbeil, and Jdeideh," where the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb alliance won the election.
"We had said that the maximum ceiling was 1,800 votes in Jbeil, and we obtained 1,700, which indicates our party's strong presence. In Jounieh, we worked for consensus ... and our obtaining around 3,000 votes is significant," he added.
The municipal elections will be held on Sunday 11th in North Lebanon, the 18th in the Bekaa and Beirut. On Saturday 24th (since Sunday the 25th is a holiday) voting will be held in the South, where entire villages have been devastated by the last war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, and where a fragile cease-fire was declared last Nov. 27.
The elections in Mount Lebanon confirmed that the LF and the Kataeb are asserting themselves as the main political force on the Christian scene. Likely due to the increased popularity of Geagea's party, in a context of heightened political polarization around Hezbollah's arms., as well as the alliances concluded by this formation with various local actors.
Most of the time, the LF were in coalition with the Kataeb, in addition to alliances with notable families and local political clans.
By late Sunday evening, the LF-Kataeb alliance had notably claimed the entire municipal council of Jounieh and Jbeil, the two major Christian cities on the coast of Mount Lebanon. In the Metn district, the lists supported by the two parties were able to win the municipalities of Dbayeh and Jdeideh-Bauchrieh-Sed al-Bauchrieh (one of the largest in the region), still according to the initial results.