Electoral Registration Deadline Looms, Mashnouq Says Beirut 'Mother of Electoral Battles'

Three days separate Lebanon from the final deadline to register the electoral lists to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections, as political parties continue deliberations to finalize their alliances in various districts.

Only thirteen lists have been registered at the ministry so far, media reports said on Friday.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said the “election campaign will intensify starting early April.”

He said Lebanese regions will all witness “fierce electoral battles, but the biggest one will be in the capital Beirut, although reports claim the major action will be in the northern city of Tripoli.”

In Beirut's second electoral district (Mazraa, Ras Beirut, Bashura, Ain Mreiseh, Zkak al-Blat and Mina al-Hosn), five lists so far will be competing to win eleven parliament seats distributed as follows: 6 Sunni, 2 Shiite, 1 Druze, 1 Orthodox, 1 Evangelical.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement’s list comprises: PM Saad Hariri, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Rabih Hassounah, Roula Tabsh and Zaher Eido for the Sunni seats, and Nazih Najem for the Orthodox seat, Bassem al-Shabb for the Evangelical seat, Ghazi Youssef and Ali al-Shaer for the Shiite seats and Faysal al-Sayegh for the Druze.

Amal Movement and Hizbullah have also announced an “unfinalized” list in Beirut second district and comprises of: Amin Sherry, Mohammed Khawaja for the Shiite seats, Adnan Trabulsi (al-Ahbash), Omar Ghandour and Zuheir al-Khatib for the Sunni seats (the rest of the Sunni seats will be decided later), Edgar Trabulsi for the Evangelical seat.

The third list was announced by the People's Movement, it comprises: Ibrahim Halabi, Yousef Tabsh, Faten Zein, Firas Mneimneh, Roula Houri for the Sunni seats, Naamat Badreddine for the Shiite seat, Hani Fayyad for the Druze seat, Omar Wakim for the Orthodox seat and Nabil Sabaali for the Evangelical seat.

Civil society activists have also formed a list called “All for Beirut” led by Ibrahim Mneimneh to challenge traditional parties.

Fouad Makhzumi leads a list called “Lebanon is Worth It”. It is comprised of Isam Barghot, Sadeddine Khaled, Rana Shmaitelli, Maarouf Itani, Mahmoud Kreidieh for the Sunni seats, Yousef Mohamed Baydoun for the Shiite seat, Khalil Brummana for the Orthodox seat, Zeina Monzer for the Druze seat, and Nadim Kosta for the Evangelical seat.

According to reports, Hariri's list is going to compete with more lists in Beirut, but those are still underway.

The deadline for registering lists expires on March 26.

The parliamentary elections will be held under a complex proportional representation system on May 6.