Mustaqbal Says Beirut Vote Proved It's 'the Only Political Movement that Transcends Sects'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc boasted Tuesday that Mustaqbal succeeded in protecting “Christian-Muslim parity” in Beirut's municipal polls, a day after Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad Hariri accused electoral allies of voting for the rival Beirut Madinati list.

“The victory of the Beirutis List, which gathered Lebanese from all groups and communities, represented a major national step on the path of confirming commitment to the Taef Accord through consolidating Christian-Muslim parity and strengthening Christian-Muslim coexistence with deeds, not words,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

“Al-Mustaqbal movement has strongly succeeded to shoulder this national responsibility and this proves the rightness of its choices, seeing as it is the only political movement that transcends sects and regions at the parliamentary and organizational levels ... and the main defender of the coexistence formula,” it added.

The bloc also thanked “some allies who took part in the Beirutis List and committed themselves to vote for it” and voiced regret that “some other parties did not honor their pledges in this regard.”

“Holding the polls in Beirut and the Bekaa represented a victory for Lebanon and its democratic system and for the principle of peaceful power rotation, which allowed this system to regain some of its vitality and to prove its distinguished nature in the region,” Mustaqbal added.

On Monday, Hariri accused some parties who nominated some candidates on the Mustaqbal-led Beirutis List of “voting for other lists.”

“This could have undermined equal Christian-Muslim representation and it is something that is not honorable in political action or electoral coalitions,” the former premier said.

But the Beirut Madinati list of independents announced Tuesday that it received 40% of the vote in the capital's municipal polls, denying claims that it received votes from certain political parties.

“Do not believe the ruling class. Our list did not garner these votes from a single sect or electoral district. The votes that Beirut Madinati received came from all districts and sects, seeing as we are advocates of civil, democratic and non-sectarian action that was embraced by voters from all religious communities in Beirut,” Beirut Madinati said.

“The rejection of this ruling class' practices and corruption is what pushed some people to bravely liberate themselves from the directions of political leaders and to vote for the civil choice,” it explained.

Spearheaded by al-Mustaqbal movement, the Beirutis List comprised candidates nominated by several political parties that are represented in the government and parliament, such as the AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party and the Tashnag Party.

Beirut Madinati meanwhile was comprised of experts, civil society figures, teachers, and artists such as famed actress and filmmaker Nadine Labaki.

Y.R.