President Joseph Aoun during his swearing-in ceremony after being elected to the position in December, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — With the conclusion of the fourth and final round of municipal elections on Saturday, President Joseph Aoun praised the "success" of the electoral process, and congratulated those candidates which were elected to positions on their town or city councils, or to the role of mokhtar.
The elections "once again confirm the vitality of Lebanese democracy and the people's commitment to participating in the construction of their homeland," Aoun said, despite the fact that overall voter turnout was significantly lower this year compared to the last municipal elections held in 2016.
Aoun commended the ministries of the interior, of defense and of justice in their efforts to maintain a smooth voting process, as well as security forces, and "all those who participated in organizing" the elections.
Addressing the winning candidates, Aoun encouraged them to "be worthy of the trust your voters have placed in you, and work in a spirit of teamwork for a stronger, more prosperous Lebanon, worthy of the sacrifices of its children and its millennia-old history."
There were hundreds of violations recorded by the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) during each region's elections, which occurred on each weekend in May. "It is essential to learn lessons from [these violations] to prevent the repetition of mistakes that accompanied the electoral process," Aoun said.
"It will be up to the government to intensify efforts to ensure that the next legislative elections are free from irregularities," he added, "which will require the revision of certain laws and ensuring full preparation in terms of organization and management of electoral operations."
Legislative elections are scheduled for the spring of 2026, and several draft laws are currently on the table of parliamentary committees. The current electoral law, adopted in 2017, provides for a proportional voting system based on 15 electoral constituencies. Aoun did not specify which current laws he wishes to "revise."
LADE reported 613 violations during Saturday's elections in southern Lebanon, 740 in last week's elections in the Bekaa and Beirut, and 838 in the first week's Mount Lebanon elections. It described a "climate of chaos" ripe with bribery in the second week's north Lebanon elections, for which the Ministry of Interior said it had received 675 complaints.