The Municipal Elections in Beirut, which were “the talk of the town” in the previous weeks, are still being discussed, due to their big symbolism and importance. The elections proved that the Lebanese are thirsty for change.
Finally, and after waiting for a long time for the results to come out, here they are: 45,000 votes for the “Beirutis” list and 32,000 votes for “Beirut Madinati”.
“Dreamers” in Beirut
Between a list constituting of different political parties, who used numerous ways to pressure voters to vote for its members, and between a list emerging from the civil society, who only used social media “Dreamers” in Beirut saw that the result was a victory.
But How did the Beirutis vote and why?
“greenarea.info” website roamed between several electoral centers in Beirut, and listened to the Beiruti’s concerns. They informed us how and why they were voting.
Streets were nearly empty in Ashrafieh that afternoon, but people were mostly voting for “Beirut Madinati”. While in Corniche Mazraa and its surrounding, people were mostly voting for the “Beirutis” list.
In Ashrafieh, we met a lady who came from Paris and was surprised when she knew that the municipal elections were happening in Lebanon. So, she extended her stay in Beirut just to vote for “Beirut Madinati”, because she saw it was “a new movement for Change in Lebanon”.
“Beirut Madinati” delegates were all over the streets distributing lists. A delegate told us that “all the voters are positive about “Beirut Madinati””, adding that “they all understand the electoral program of this “social movement”.
Another woman said that she decided to vote when “Beirut Madinati” announced their candidacy. She said: “We are not going to vote anymore for the candidates we already tried”.
Fear of the Unknown?
Ibrahim Mneimneh, from “Beirut Madinati” told us that “we can vote for transparent people with expertise”, adding that “we should vote for “Beirutis” that have an electoral program, and want to serve this city, in order to end the cycle, we’ve been going through for years… in vain”.
On the other hand, a different scene prevailed in Cornishe al-Mazraa. A man speaking on the microphone in a car roaming Beirut with “Future Movement” flags on it, told us confidently “I’m with the Beirutis list, because I’m afraid of the unknown”.
Another man standing next to him, Abou Ahmad, who is from Beirut said out loud: “I love Beirut, and everyone who serves Beirut”, adding that “there is no one better than them (Beirutis list)”.
Lack of Preparation
647 violations were observed in the first day of elections, according to the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), which is double that of the last elections in 2010.
LADE Secretary General Zeina al-Helou said in an interview with “greenarea.info” that “there wasn’t serious preparation in the post-election period, especially for registrars, who were appointed without undergoing any training”.
She said that “Most of them have not attended any elections previously”, adding that the “Interior Ministry was very careless in these elections, and all it wanted was for the elections to happen, no matter the way they were happening”.
On the other hand, she confirmed: “Of course we want the elections to happen, but we also care how the elections are conducted, especially that they decide the destiny of a whole country for 6 years”.
The “worse” over the “worst”, this is what some people from Beirut prefer, as they told us. They believe that the “Beirutis” list represents them as people belonging to this city. Some even see that the list “represents the “journey of the Martyr Rafiq Hariri”. But parents are already brainwashing children to love certain people, just as a man we met in Corniche Mazraa was telling his little daughter: “Tell her Hariri”.
Anyway, “It’s not just about winning”, as many delegates said, and those who did not vote for “Beirut Madinati” at least saw an electoral program. Perhaps the message reached many people already.
