General elections were held in Lebanon between 18 August and 15 September 1996.[1] Independent candidates won the majority of seats, although most of them were considered members of various blocs. Voter turnout was 43.3%.[2]
13 in the Berri bloc (plus the eight Amal Movement MPs)
5 in the Hrawi bloc
5 in the Murr bloc
4 in the Jumblatt bloc (plus the five Progressive Socialist Party MPs)
4 in the Salim el-Hoss bloc
4 in the Frangieh bloc
3 in the Armenian Revolutionary Federation bloc (plus one MP from the party)
2 in the Hezbollah bloc (plus the seven Hezbollah MPs)
1 in the Hobeika bloc (plus the Promise Party MP)
Voting
The elections were held over five successive Sundays. The first, 18 August, were held for the thirty-five seats allocated to Mount Lebanon. This included North Metn, Keserwan & Byblos, Baabda, Chouf & Aley. Hariri allies won 32 of the seats with a turnout of 45%. In August the Constitutional Court had ruled that the allocation of five districts to the Chouf was invalid since it treated districts differently. The allocation was widely seen as a mechanism that ensured Walid Jumblatt’s election. Parliament overruled the Courts objection citing “exceptional circumstances”.[4] Some of these districts faced a boycott by supporters of general Michel Aoun and of the Lebanese Forces. In the Chouf Jumblatt faced opposition from fellow DruzeTalal Arslan. Elie Hobeika was standing in Baabda and had support from Hizbullah.
The second round, 25 August, was for the twenty-eight seats in North Lebanon. The majority of the candidates here were pro-Syrian and voting was based on family and clan affiliations. Sunni boss Omar Karami was elected as was the young MaroniteSuleiman Franjieh.
In Greater Beirut Rafik Hariri was reported to have spent $5 million campaigning and his allies won 13 of the 19 seats. His rival Selim Hoss was elected, as was independent Tamam Salam and Hariri critic Najah Wakim (Greek Orthodox). Hizbullah MP Muhammad Barjawi lost his seat.
The South Lebanon voting, 8 September, 14 of the 23 seats allocated to Shia candidates under Lebanons confessional system. One analyst estimated that Hizbullah would win 60% of the vote in a straight contest due to their popularity for their part in the reconstruction work following the Israeli bombardment in April. Their rival Amal were designated 17 seats and Hizbullah 4 in the joint Shia list. Voting in Sidon was slit between Bahia Hariri, the Nasserist Mustapha Saad and an Amal candidate.
The Beqaa vote took place on 15 September with 14 of the 23 seats reserved for Shia candidates. On 28 August Hassan Nasrallah had announced the fielding of an independent Hizbullah list. After two days of intense negotiations in Damascus this list was replaced by a list lead by Hussein Husseini an old style Shia politician and rival of both Amal and Hizbullah.
The final results gave the Hariri block 20 MPs; Nabih Berri of Amal led a cross-confessional block of 20; the Jumblatt block had 10; Hizbullah had 7 MPs plus 2 allies; Michel Murr (SSNP) had 5 and Elias Hrawi had 4. Hariri’s government was left facing an opposition of around 20 MPs. These included Salim Hoss, Omar Karami, Najam Wakim, Hussein Husseini, Sulayman Franjieh and the Hizbullah bloc.[5]
In May 1997, following a Judicial review of seventeen of the contests, four MPs lost their seats due to serious electoral infractions. They were Fawzi Hubaysh, Minister of Culture, Akkar; Emile Nawfal, Byblos; Henri Shadid and Khaled Daher.[6]
Local elections
In November 1997 the Constitutional Court ruled against the new government’s decision to postpone local elections for two years. There had been no local elections since 1963. It had been originally announced that the elections would take place in April 1998. Under the Lebanese system voters were registered by their place of birth. There were fifteen thousand positions to be filled. Municipal funds had not been dispersed since the 1980s. Local elections were promised as part of the Taif agreement. It was speculated that amongst the reasons for the delay was the possible negative outcome for some of the leaders of the major blocs. Nabih Berri was believed to lack grassroots support. Rafic Hariri was likely to lose his home town of Sidon. Interior Minister Michel Murr proposed that council members should be appointed in the security zone.[7]
References
^Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p183 ISBN0-19-924958-X
^Middle East International No 533, 6 September 1996, Giles Trendle pp.12-13; No 534, 20 September 1996, p.12; No 535, 4 October 1996, p. 12; No 536 25 October 1996, pp.13-14
^Middle East International No 551, 30 May 1997; Giles Trendle p.14
^Middle East International No 563, 21 November 1997; Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Reinoud Leeders p.14.
April 29, 2023
1996, lebanese, general, election, general, elections, were, held, lebanon, between, august, september, 1996, independent, candidates, majority, seats, although, most, them, were, considered, members, various, blocs, voter, turnout, 1992, august, september, 19. General elections were held in Lebanon between 18 August and 15 September 1996 1 Independent candidates won the majority of seats although most of them were considered members of various blocs Voter turnout was 43 3 2 1996 Lebanese general election 1992 18 August and 15 September 1996 2000 All 128 seats to the Parliament of LebanonTurnout43 29 12 94pp First party Second party Leader Rafic Hariri Nabih BerriParty Hariri Bloc Amal MovementLeader s seat Beirut ZahraniSeats won 25 8 Third party Fourth party Leader Hassan Nasrallah Walid JumblattParty Hezbollah PSPLeader s seat None ChoufSeats won 7 5Prime Minister before electionSelim HossIndependent Elected Prime Minister Rafic HaririIndependent Contents 1 Results 2 Voting 3 Local elections 4 ReferencesResults Edit Electoral districts per the 1996 vote law PartyVotes Seats Amal Movement8 3Hezbollah7 1Syrian Social Nationalist Party5 1Progressive Socialist Party50Arab Socialist Ba ath Party20Islamic Group1 2Toilers League10Popular Nasserist Organization10Promise Party10Armenian Revolutionary Federation10Social Democrat Hunchakian Party10Armenian Democratic Liberal Party1 1Arab Democratic Party0 1Al Ahbash0 1Kataeb Party0NewIndependents94 2Total128 29Total votes1 113 130 Registered voters turnout2 571 47643 29Source Nohlen et al Of the 94 independent MPs 66 were considered to be members of various blocs 3 25 in the Hariri bloc 13 in the Berri bloc plus the eight Amal Movement MPs 5 in the Hrawi bloc 5 in the Murr bloc 4 in the Jumblatt bloc plus the five Progressive Socialist Party MPs 4 in the Salim el Hoss bloc 4 in the Frangieh bloc 3 in the Armenian Revolutionary Federation bloc plus one MP from the party 2 in the Hezbollah bloc plus the seven Hezbollah MPs 1 in the Hobeika bloc plus the Promise Party MP Voting EditThe elections were held over five successive Sundays The first 18 August were held for the thirty five seats allocated to Mount Lebanon This included North Metn Keserwan amp Byblos Baabda Chouf amp Aley Hariri allies won 32 of the seats with a turnout of 45 In August the Constitutional Court had ruled that the allocation of five districts to the Chouf was invalid since it treated districts differently The allocation was widely seen as a mechanism that ensured Walid Jumblatt s election Parliament overruled the Courts objection citing exceptional circumstances 4 Some of these districts faced a boycott by supporters of general Michel Aoun and of the Lebanese Forces In the Chouf Jumblatt faced opposition from fellow Druze Talal Arslan Elie Hobeika was standing in Baabda and had support from Hizbullah The second round 25 August was for the twenty eight seats in North Lebanon The majority of the candidates here were pro Syrian and voting was based on family and clan affiliations Sunni boss Omar Karami was elected as was the young Maronite Suleiman Franjieh In Greater Beirut Rafik Hariri was reported to have spent 5 million campaigning and his allies won 13 of the 19 seats His rival Selim Hoss was elected as was independent Tamam Salam and Hariri critic Najah Wakim Greek Orthodox Hizbullah MP Muhammad Barjawi lost his seat The South Lebanon voting 8 September 14 of the 23 seats allocated to Shia candidates under Lebanons confessional system One analyst estimated that Hizbullah would win 60 of the vote in a straight contest due to their popularity for their part in the reconstruction work following the Israeli bombardment in April Their rival Amal were designated 17 seats and Hizbullah 4 in the joint Shia list Voting in Sidon was slit between Bahia Hariri the Nasserist Mustapha Saad and an Amal candidate The Beqaa vote took place on 15 September with 14 of the 23 seats reserved for Shia candidates On 28 August Hassan Nasrallah had announced the fielding of an independent Hizbullah list After two days of intense negotiations in Damascus this list was replaced by a list lead by Hussein Husseini an old style Shia politician and rival of both Amal and Hizbullah The final results gave the Hariri block 20 MPs Nabih Berri of Amal led a cross confessional block of 20 the Jumblatt block had 10 Hizbullah had 7 MPs plus 2 allies Michel Murr SSNP had 5 and Elias Hrawi had 4 Hariri s government was left facing an opposition of around 20 MPs These included Salim Hoss Omar Karami Najam Wakim Hussein Husseini Sulayman Franjieh and the Hizbullah bloc 5 In May 1997 following a Judicial review of seventeen of the contests four MPs lost their seats due to serious electoral infractions They were Fawzi Hubaysh Minister of Culture Akkar Emile Nawfal Byblos Henri Shadid and Khaled Daher 6 Local elections EditIn November 1997 the Constitutional Court ruled against the new government s decision to postpone local elections for two years There had been no local elections since 1963 It had been originally announced that the elections would take place in April 1998 Under the Lebanese system voters were registered by their place of birth There were fifteen thousand positions to be filled Municipal funds had not been dispersed since the 1980s Local elections were promised as part of the Taif agreement It was speculated that amongst the reasons for the delay was the possible negative outcome for some of the leaders of the major blocs Nabih Berri was believed to lack grassroots support Rafic Hariri was likely to lose his home town of Sidon Interior Minister Michel Murr proposed that council members should be appointed in the security zone 7 References Edit Dieter Nohlen Florian Grotz amp Christof Hartmann 2001 Elections in Asia A data handbook Volume I p183 ISBN 0 19 924958 X Nohlen et al p184 Nohlen et al p190 Middle East International No 532 16 August 1996 Publishers Lord Mayhew Dennis Walters MP Giles Trendle p 11 Middle East International No 533 6 September 1996 Giles Trendle pp 12 13 No 534 20 September 1996 p 12 No 535 4 October 1996 p 12 No 536 25 October 1996 pp 13 14 Middle East International No 551 30 May 1997 Giles Trendle p 14 Middle East International No 563 21 November 1997 Publishers Lord Mayhew Dennis Walters MP Reinoud Leeders p 14 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1996 Lebanese general election amp oldid 1147665509, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
