Gebran Bassil during his press conference on Monday. (Credit: NNA)
MP Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), addressed the breakthrough of a rival list's president in the Beirut municipal elections during a press conference on Monday. He said, "A single breakthrough undermines parity in the Beirut municipal council," noting that Beirut remains committed to parity, but "this deviation from the rule was possible despite political awakening."
Although final results from Sunday's voting in Beirut have not yet been released, it appeared that Mahmoud al-Jamal, head of the "Beirut Loves You" list, made headway against the "Beirut Unites Us" list. This list united major parties from various communities under the slogan of ensuring confessional parity in the municipal council, despite significant political differences. Jamal's breakthrough, a Sunni candidate supported by Jamaa Islamiya, affects one of the Christian candidates from the other list.
While the municipal electoral law does not set specific quotas, covering 12 Christians and 12 Muslims in the 24-member council has become customary since the post-civil war era, largely due to Rafik Hariri's influential era.
Bassil, whose party was part of this larger alliance, stated that "any breach of parity within this council is an attack on coexistence," urging its resolution "within the texts."
According to Bassil, the Lebanese Forces justified their participation on a list with the Hezbollah-Amal alliance to preserve parity, similarly justifying the FPM's past alliance with Hezbollah.
The MP also criticized "NGOs for their lies and demonization of political parties," asserting that "the municipal elections highlighted their inability to play a developmental and political role, especially in Beirut." This likely referenced the "Beirut Madinati" list, backed by MPs from the October 2019 protests, which scored low. This movement often criticizes political leaders of the country as self-serving.
A ‘significant presence’ in the Bekaa
Discussing the Bekaa elections, Bassil said that his party demonstrated strength across regions.
"In Rashaya, we've shown we're the strongest Christian component," he claimed. "In Western Bekaa, we supported agreements. In the villages of the Zahleh district, we demonstrated a significant presence."
The MP noted that the FPM-backed list in Qaa lost to the Lebanese Forces-backed list due to "internal disagreements," offering no further details. "Conversely, we won in Ras Baalbeck and Jdeidet al-Fakiha, both crucial electorally," he said.
In Zahleh, where the Lebanese Forces-backed list triumphed over a coalition of political parties, the FPM allowed its electorate to choose freely.
"We faced the Lebanese Forces's refusal to collaborate, believing they could win alone, while we had issues with their list's head, Assaad Zoughaib." Bassil told his party, the second most powerful in Zahleh after its Christian rivals, would reassess its political and popular performance in the Bekaa.
