Bekaa I () is an electoral district in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, as per the 2017 vote law. The district elects 2

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

parliamentarians, 1

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

, 1

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

, 1

Armenian Orthodox The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic Church, belongs to the Arme ...

, 1

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

and 1

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

. The electoral district covers the '' qada'' of Zahle.Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
Political Party Mapping in Lebanon Ahead of the 2018 Elections
'' The electoral district retained the geographic boundaries and seat allocation of the Zahle electoral district from the previous electoral law.IFES.
Electoral Districts in Lebanon
''

Electorate

The electorate in the first Bekaa electoral district is predominately Christian.دائرة البقاع الاولى
. ''Annahar'' Ahead of the 2018 elections, electoral district had 172,555 registered voters; 48,867 Sunni (28.32%), 27,538 Shia (15.96%), 906 Druze (0.53%), 32,295 Greek Catholic (18.72%), 27,049 Maronite (15.68%), 16,470 Greek Orthodox (9.54%), 8,604 Armenian Orthodox (4.99%), 6,646 Syriac Orthodox and Syriac Catholic (3.85%), 1,846 Armenian Catholic (1.07%), 1,349 Evangelical (0.78%) and 985 from other sects (0.57%).

Political dynamics

Local politics in Zahle was for long been dominated by the Skaff clan, ever since the French Mandate administration chose to benefit the family in order to counter the influence of other local elites. But the election of Zahle politician

Elias Hrawi Elias Hrawi (; 4 September 1926 – 7 July 2006) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 10th president of Lebanon from 1989 to 1998. Early life and education Hrawi was born on 4 September 1926 in Hawch Al Umara, Zahlé, to a wealthy landow ...

as President of Lebanon challenged the position of the Skaff bloc leader Elias J. Skaff. In the 1990s pro-Syrian forces opted to rally behind the city mayor and lawyer Nicolas Fattouch, creating an alternative bloc of political power. During the elections of 1992, 1996 and 2000 the influence of the Skaff family gradually declined.

2009 election

Ahead of the

2009 Lebanese general election Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon on 7 June 2009 to elect all 128 members of the Parliament of Lebanon. Although general elections are held every four years, this parliament due to various reasons stayed in power until the 2018 gene ...

the Zahle electoral district had 158,005 registered voters. The voter turnout stood at 91,848 (58.12%), above the national average of 50.7%. Two main lists crystalized; a joint list of Fattouch, the

Future Movement The Future Movement () is a Lebanese political party affiliated with the Sunni sect. The party was founded as a coalition in 1995 led by Rafic Hariri which was known as the Hariri Bloc but was officially founded in 2007. The party is led by Saad ...

, the

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

and the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...

, and the Skaff-aligned Popular Bloc list supported by

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and the

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement (, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 1994, the party is currently led by Aoun's son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. History Background For many years, while Michel Aoun was and exiled i ...

. The Fattouch-led list won, receiving an average 48,688 votes for their candidates, while the Skaff-led list finished in second place with an average vote for its candidates at 41,380. The elected MPs from the Fattouch list were Elie Maroni of the Kataeb Party (Maronite, 49,328 votes),

Okab Sakr Okab Sakr or Oakab Saker (; born 4 March 1975) is a Lebanese journalist and politician who lost his father before he was born during the beginning of the Lebanese civil war. Sakr won a seat in the Lebanese parliament on 7 June 2009, and one of f ...

(Shia, 49,238 votes), Shant Janjanian (Armenian Orthodox, 48,527 votes),

Asim Araji Asim or ASIM may refer to: *Meaning in Arabic , man who has lots of wives and does not like work'' *Aseem, a male given name of Indian origin, often spelled ''Asim'' meaning ''Man with smelly feet'' *Asem, a male given name ...

(Sunni, 48,524 votes), Joseph Maalouf (Greek Orthodox, 48,288 votes), Tony Abou Khater (Greek Catholic, 47,999 votes) and Nicolas Fattouch (Greek Catholic, 47,709 votes). The most voted candidate on the other list was Elias J. Skaff, with 42,975 votes.

2018 election

5 lists were registered in the electoral district for the

2018 Lebanese general election General elections were held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. Although originally scheduled for 2013, the election was postponed three times in 2013, 2014 and 2017 for various reasons, including the security situation, the failure of the Parliament to ...

.77 لائحة تُقصي 334 مرشحاً: لبنان إلى الانتخابات
''Al-Akhbar'' An alliance of

, Tashnaq and independents was announced with the candidature name "Zahle for All".اعلان لوائح في صيدا - جزين وزحلة وعكار
. ''An-Nahar''13 لائحة في البقاع: أم معارك حزب الله
''Al-Modon'' Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party fielded the "Zahle is Our Cause" list. There were also the "Popular Bloc" list led by Myriam Skaff, "Zahle Options and Decisions" led by Nicolas Fattouch (including a Hezbollah candidate) and the civil society list "We are All National".

Ashraf Rifi Ashraf Rifi (; also spelled Achraf Rifi) (born 1 April 1954) is a Lebanese politician and former police chief. He was the general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF; the national police) from 2005 to 2013 and served as mini ...

did not field a list in Zahle, as he failed to reach an alliance with Kataeb and Lebanese Forces on the matter.زحلة دائرة المفاجآت... والأرمني عقدة
''Al-Akhbar'' Commenting on the pre-electoral alliance-building in Zahle, an

Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...

journalist noted " zarre alliances competing for one eastern city's seven seats reflect maneuvering for votes in parliamentary elections".Al-Jazeera.
In Lebanon's Zahle, elections are local
' :''Bold indicated incumbent parliamentarian, green winning candidate''

References

{{Electoral districts of Lebanon Electoral districts of Lebanon