Bekaa I () is an electoral district in Lebanon, as per the 2017 vote law. The district elects 2 Greek Catholic parliamentarians, 1 Maronite, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Armenian Orthodox, 1 Shia and 1 Sunni. The electoral district covers the qada of Zahle.Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Political Party Mapping in Lebanon Ahead of the 2018 Elections The electoral district retained the geographic boundaries and seat allocation of the Zahle electoral district from the previous electoral law.IFES. Electoral Districts in Lebanon
Electorate The electorate in the first Bekaa electoral district is predominately Christian.دائرة البقاع الاولى . Annahar Ahead of the 2018 elections, electoral district had 172,555 registered voters; 48,867 Sunni (28.32%), 27,538 Shia (15.96%), 906 Druze (0.53%), 32,295 Greek Catholic (18.72%), 27,049 Maronite (15.68%), 16,470 Greek Orthodox (9.54%), 8,604 Armenian Orthodox (4.99%), 6,646 Syriac Orthodox and Syriac Catholic (3.85%), 1,846 Armenian Catholic (1.07%), 1,349 Evangelical (0.78%) and 985 from other sects (0.57%).
Political dynamics Local politics in Zahle was for long been dominated by the Skaff clan, ever since the French Mandate administration chose to benefit the family in order to counter the influence of other local elites.Le Monde. Elias Skaff, baron chrétien de la Békaa au service de l'opposition libanaise But the election of Zahle politician Elias Hrawi as President of Lebanon challenged the position of the Skaff bloc leader Elias J. Skaff. In the 1990s pro-Syrian forces opted to rally behind the city mayor and lawyer Nicolas Fattouch, creating an alternative bloc of political power. During the elections of 1992, 1996 and 2000 the influence of the Skaff family gradually declined.
2009 election Ahead of the 2009 Lebanese general election the Zahle electoral district had 158,005 registered voters. The voter turnout stood at 91,848 (58.12%), above the national average of 50.7%. Two main lists crystalized; a joint list of Fattouch, the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, and the Skaff-aligned Popular Bloc list supported by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement. The Fattouch-led list won, receiving an average 48,688 votes for their candidates, while the Skaff-led list finished in second place with an average vote for its candidates at 41,380. The elected MPs from the Fattouch list were Elie Maroni of the Kataeb Party (Maronite, 49,328 votes), Okab Sakr (Shia, 49,238 votes), Shant Janjanian (Armenian Orthodox, 48,527 votes), Asim Araji (Sunni, 48,524 votes), Joseph Maalouf (Greek Orthodox, 48,288 votes), Tony Abou Khater (Greek Catholic, 47,999 votes) and Nicolas Fattouch (Greek Catholic, 47,709 votes). The most voted candidate on the other list was Elias J. Skaff, with 42,975 votes.
2018 election
5 lists were registered in the electoral district for the 2018 Lebanese general election.77 لائحة تُقصي 334 مرشحاً: لبنان إلى الانتخابات Al-Akhbar An alliance of Free Patriotic Movement, Future Movement, Tashnaq and independents was announced with the candidature name "Zahle for All".اعلان لوائح في صيدا - جزين وزحلة وعكار . An-Nahar13 لائحة في البقاع: أم معارك حزب الله. Al-Modon Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party fielded the "Zahle is Our Cause" list. There were also the "Popular Bloc" list led by Myriam Skaff, "Zahle Options and Decisions" led by Nicolas Fattouch (including a Hezbollah candidate) and the civil society list "We are All National". Ashraf Rifi did not field a list in Zahle, as he failed to reach an alliance with Kataeb and Lebanese Forces on the matter.زحلة دائرة المفاجآت... والأرمني عقدة. Al-Akhbar Commenting on the pre-electoral alliance-building in Zahle, an Al-Jazeera journalist noted "[b]izarre alliances competing for one eastern city's seven seats reflect maneuvering for votes in parliamentary elections".Al-Jazeera. In Lebanon's Zahle, elections are local
Bold indicated incumbent parliamentarian, green winning candidate ListVotes%SeatsGreek Catholic, 2 seatsMaronite, 1 seatGreek Orthodox, 1 seatSunni, 1 seatShia, 1 seatArmenian Orthodox, 1 seat "Zahle for All" 36,391 39.70 3Michel Skaff987 (1.08%)Assaad Nakad4,138 (4.51%)Nizar Dalloul(Future)3,947 (4.31%)Marie-Jeanne Bilezikjian3,851 (4.20%) "Zahle Options and Decisions" 23,546 25.69 2Nicolas Fattouch5,737 (6.26%) Khalil Hrawi343 (0.37%)Nassif Al-Tini(SSNP)"القومي" يعلن عن مرشحيه في 7 دوائر معاهداً العمل للبنان المواطنة والعدالة. Al Markazia528 (0.58%)Wajih Araji592 (0.65%) "Zahle is Our Cause" 18,702 20.40 2Michel Fattouch552 (0.60%)Elie Maroni(Kataeb)kataeb.org. Kataeb Party Announces Candidates for Parliamentary Polls 1,213 (1.32%)Muhammad Ali Mita1,370 (1.49%)Amer Sabouri111 (0.12%)Boughous Kordian142 (0.15%) "Popular Bloc" 10,885 11.87 0Mariam Skaff6,348 (6.92%)Nicola Amorri95 (0.10%)Paul Charbel824 (0.90%)Nicola Saba271 (0.30%)Ahmed Ajoumi1,008 (1.10%)Osama Salhab172 (0.19%)George Bushikian1,845 (2.01%) "We are All National" 1,599 1.74 0Ghassan Maalouf651 (0.71%) Hanna Habib287 (0.31%)Vanda Chedid(Green)L'Orient Le Jour. Zahlé, une bataille charnière qui gagne tous les jours en fièvre 268 (0.29%)Houd Taaïmi201 (0.22%)Mohammad Hassan71 (0.08%) Source: Al-Liwaa,اعلان لائحة "زحلة للكل"... وهذه هي الأسماء. Al-Liwaa ACE Project,Table Attached to Law 44 dated 17/6/2017 (Official Gazette no.27 dated 17 June 2017) - Distribution of Seats to the Confessions and Districts ACE Project Ministry of Interior and Municipalitiesاللوائح المسجلَّة في دائرة البقاع الاولى كما نشرتها المديرية العامة للشؤون السياسية واللاجئين. Ministry of Interior and Municipalitiesنتائج الإنتخابات النيابية العامة 2018. Ministry of Interior and Municipalities
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