A polling station for the election of mokhtars on May 4 in Mount Lebanon. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The mokhtar ("chosen one" in Arabic), or mokhtara for a woman, is an elected figure of a city or village in Lebanon, a public officer who acts as an intermediary between the population and the central authorities. Enjoying trust and respectability, they are the reference for the village or neighborhood that manages conflicts and calls upon law enforcement as needed, without taking sides. What is their role? Isn't the institution, inherited from the Ottomans, at risk of becoming obsolete today? L'Orient-Le Jour breaks down the prerogatives of the mokhtar, as municipal and mokhtar elections continue to take place in Lebanon until the end of May.
How does one become a mokhtar?
The mokhtar is elected for six years during the municipal election from the date of election, under the law dating back to Nov. 27, 1947, which was last slightly amended in 1997. When running for elections, they also present between one and three advisers who will form their council. Each city, village or inhabited area with more than 50 residents is administered by a mokhtar. Towns with fewer than 50 residents are managed by the mokhtar and the advisers of the neighboring locality.
Localities with over 3,000 residents are considered cities. They are divided into districts and treated like villages.
Who has the right to run?
The election system that applies is the same as the municipal one. The candidate must be at least 25 years old. If not qualified, they must take a dictation exam conducted at the office of the qaim maqam [state representative at the district level], as the mokhtar must know how to read and write. The former mokhtar of Ram (Batroun), Fady Saaiby, remembers "candidates sitting at their desks, focused on the task before their candidacy acceptance during previous mokhtar elections."
A person is prohibited from holding more than one mokhtar or advisor position simultaneously.
Family members (father, son, son-in-law, brother, etc.) are not allowed to be elected in the same area; in case of conflict, the youngest elected is evicted or chosen by draw if the two youngest are of the same age.
The mokhtar takes an oath before assuming responsibilities.
What are their prerogatives?
The mokhtar is supposed to work for the good of the village or neighborhood. They manage the daily affairs of their residents and represent the village or neighborhood before authorities. They usually know everyone, and everyone knows them. They also represent the administration in their village or neighborhood. However, they do not have the role of the municipality to provide urban services and development to the population.
"There are two types of mokhtars. The one who performs their duties in a locality with a municipality; their main activity is therefore related to civil status documents. And the one who performs their duties in a locality without a municipality, who also has to compensate for the absence of municipal authority," noted Saaiby. They do not, however, have municipal prerogatives. But their powers are nonetheless numerous. The mokhtar has the duty to maintain public order. They notify authorities of each crime, offense or significant event. They can request law enforcement intervention and accompany them when they intervene.
They manage the civil status registers of their area, issue residence certificates or requests for documents related to personal status, passports, police records and authenticate civil status documents (births, marriages, deaths, divorces, etc). They are also responsible for the voter lists.
The mokhtar also plays a role in the state's financial affairs. They assist collectors in collecting taxes, conduct property seizures and transmit decisions from the Finance Ministry.
The mokhtar also has a role in preserving land records. They also ensure the preservation of forests and must inform the competent authorities in case of plant and crop diseases or insect infestations that could devastate plantations and forests.
The same applies to the health sector. The mokhtar must report any contagious disease affecting residents and animals to the authorities. They also have the role of raising awareness among the population of the necessity to confine themselves and get vaccinated. They must also inform the authorities of poisoning cases related to the consumption of meat and dairy products.
Finally, in terms of education, culture and heritage preservation, the mokhtar must encourage the population to enroll children in schools. They must also ensure that children's rights are protected. In their role of preserving historical heritage, they are required to inform the competent authorities of any damage to the heritage.
Is the mokhtar a civil servant? Where do they get their income?
The mokhtar is not a civil servant. They do not receive a salary, and their services are free. They often work in another profession. However, the mokhtar's cooperation fund, created in 2003, grants them an end-of-service allowance, family aid in case of death, marriage and birth.
This arrangement also allows the mokhtar to obtain special stamps to collect fees, the amount of which is set by decree, for the certificates they issue for passport requests or documents related to personal status, inheritance inventories, mortgage or sale contracts, signature authentication, provision of certificates proving property seizures and property inventories.
Some mokhtars make a living from their activities. They often personally visit public administrations to complete formalities requested by residents, thus improving their income. Others are content to provide the requested certificates and fulfill their duty, even refusing to collect the stamp fees.
What is their supervising ministry?
The mokhtar works under the Interior Ministry. They must also report to the qaim maqam and then to the mohafez [state representative at the governorate level]. For instance, the mokhtar cannot be absent from their village or neighborhood for more than 10 days without the authorization of the qaim maqam or the mohafez. If they commit a crime or offense in the exercise of their responsibilities, the qaim maqam or even the mohafez must order an investigation and inform the Interior Minister, who will decide whether or not to resort to justice and whether to remove the mokhtar from office.
Is the function doomed to disappear?
According to the former Interior Minister, Ziad Baroud, the mokhtar institution dates back to the Ottoman period. It is in effect in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, mainly. "If it seems obsolete today," and while the government tries to initiate the digitization of operations and administrative procedures project, "it has allowed, in some villages or districts, to avoid major conflicts among notable families, one family obtaining the municipal presidency, the other the responsibility of mokhtar."
The lawyer suggests keeping the mokhtar institution by integrating it into the municipal council, which would allow the elected official to benefit from the secretariat, infrastructure and municipal offices. But for this to happen, the law needs to be amended.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
