Lebanon’s Municipal Elections Offer Hope of Political Renewal
On Sunday Lebanon witnessed its first round of elections in four years with the holding of municipal elections. They were a landmark event because this was the first time a technocratic list of independent candidates not belonging to any political party (called the 'Beirut Madinati' or Beirut My City list) contested the municipal elections in the governorate of Beirut in at attempt at challenging the status quo.
Beirut Madinati did not win a single seat, and the prevailing list in Beirut was called the 'Beirutis', representing the dominant political parties in Lebanon. What is notable about the 'Beirutis' list is that it brought together candidates from Lebanon’s two main political camps - March 8 and March 14 - that hitherto had been arch rivals in elections.… Seguir leyendo »