Mirna Murr won the battle for the presidency of the federation of municipalities of the Metn district, with 22 votes out of 33. (Credit: al-Nashra news site.)
Mirna Murr, president of the Bteghrine municipality, won Monday’s election for the presidency of the Metn Federation of Municipalities, defeating Nicole Gemayel, president of the Bickfaya municipality and sister of Kataeb party leader Samy Gemayel.
The vote followed three weeks of negotiations and was not a close contest. Murr has held the position since 1998.
Murr won with 22 votes out of 33, according to our information.
The reappointment of the outgoing president in this federation, which groups 33 municipalities, is part of the continuation of the Murr family's traditional leadership in their stronghold. Murr and her clan did not reach out to the Free Patriotic Movement, present in the area.
Kataeb, whose stronghold is traditionally in Metn, had chosen to ally with the Lebanese Forces, who had achieved lots of success at polls, in hopes of bringing about a long-awaited change at the head of the federation.
In Lebanon, federations of municipalities are perceived as real levers of service and clientelism for political and electoral purposes. In this context, Christian actors are particularly focused on next year's legislative elections, in 2026.