Municipal elections set for May, despite challenges in southern Lebanon
Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian
Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ahmad Al-Hajjar confirmed to the Parliamentary Defense Committee, chaired by MP Jihad al-Samad, that municipal and mukhtars' elections will be held as scheduled in four stages: May 4, 11, 18, and 25. Funding is secured: $11 million.
According to information provided to LBCI, the Interior Minister heard from the Hezbollah-Amal Movement political duo their insistence on holding the municipal elections on time in the southern region, even if villages and towns are destroyed.
The plan is to place ballot boxes at the entrances of towns where roads are blocked and in homes that are ready.
Thus, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement want the municipal elections in the south, meaning the use of megacenters—one of the reforms required internationally—is now unlikely.
The hope remains that it will not be ruled out and could be used in the 2026 parliamentary elections.
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