Saad Hariri arriving in downtown Beirut on Feb. 14, 2025. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
There is no ‘zay ma hiyeh’ (‘as it is’, Saad Hariri’s political slogan popularized during the previous elections, asking voters to choose full lists) without Saad Hariri. This is one of the main takeaways from Sunday’s municipal elections in Beirut, officially boycotted by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Future Movement. For the first time in nearly three decades, candidates on a list — in this case, “Beirut Loves You” — managed to break through against the “Beirut Unites Us” list, which unites most political parties.Indeed, the “Beirut Loves You” list — which is backed by MP Nabil Badre, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, and most likely the Future Movement — succeeded in getting at least one of its candidates elected to the capital’s municipal council. This means that the “Beirut Unites Us” list was not elected ‘as is’ [‘zay ma hiyeh’]. ...
There is no ‘zay ma hiyeh’ (‘as it is’, Saad Hariri’s political slogan popularized during the previous elections, asking voters to choose full lists) without Saad Hariri. This is one of the main takeaways from Sunday’s municipal elections in Beirut, officially boycotted by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Future Movement. For the first time in nearly three decades, candidates on a list — in this case, “Beirut Loves You” — managed to break through against the “Beirut Unites Us” list, which unites most political parties.Indeed, the “Beirut Loves You” list — which is backed by MP Nabil Badre, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, and most likely the Future Movement — succeeded in getting at least one of its candidates elected to the capital’s municipal council. This means that the “Beirut Unites Us” list was...