A voter casts their ballot in Tripoli during the municipal elections on May 11, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Local elections were held on Sunday in North Lebanon and Akkar governorates (mouhafazat), one week after those in Mount Lebanon. Amid ongoing political shifts, this vote held particular significance, as it took place in the strongholds of the key Christian political figures: in Batroun district (stronghold of Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil), Zgharta (that of Sleiman Frangieh, head of the Marada Movement), and Bsharri (stronghold of Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces).The elections also served as a way to gauge the balance of power in Sunni-majority areas, from Tripoli to Akkar, as the community’s main leader, Saad Hariri, continues his withdrawal from politics. In addition, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria is expected to impact the bordering areas and potentially revive political Sunnism.L’Orient-Le...
Local elections were held on Sunday in North Lebanon and Akkar governorates (mouhafazat), one week after those in Mount Lebanon. Amid ongoing political shifts, this vote held particular significance, as it took place in the strongholds of the key Christian political figures: in Batroun district (stronghold of Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil), Zgharta (that of Sleiman Frangieh, head of the Marada Movement), and Bsharri (stronghold of Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces).The elections also served as a way to gauge the balance of power in Sunni-majority areas, from Tripoli to Akkar, as the community’s main leader, Saad Hariri, continues his withdrawal from politics. In addition, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria is expected to impact the bordering areas and potentially revive political...