The 2018 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections: What Do the Numbers Say? Bekaa 1 Electoral Report District: Zahle JAN 2021 Georgia Dagher Zahle Founded in 1989, the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies is a Beirut-based independent, non-partisan think tank whose mission is to produce and advocate policies that improve good governance in fields such as oil and gas, economic development, public finance, and decentralization. This report is published in partnership with HIVOS through the Women Empowered for Leadership (WE4L) programme, funded by the Netherlands Foreign Ministry FLOW fund. Copyright © 2020. The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies Designed by Polypod Executed by Zéna Khairallah Sadat Tower, Tenth Flour P.O.B 55-215, Leon Street, Ras Beirut, Lebanon T+ +961 1 79 93 01 F: +961 1 79 93 02
[email protected] www.lcps-lebanon.org The 2018 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections: What Do the Numbers Say? Bekaa 1 Electoral District: Zahle Georgia Dagher Georgia Dagher is a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Her research focuses on parliamentary representation, namely electoral behavior and electoral reform. She has also previously contributed to LCPS’s work on international donors conferences and reform programs. She holds a degree in Politics and Quantitative Methods from the University of Edinburgh. The author would like to thank Sami Atallah, Daniel Garrote Sanchez, and Micheline Tobia for their contribution to this report. 2 LCPS Report Executive Summary In the Lebanese parliamentary elections of 2018, the district of Zahle saw a highly competitive race, with candidates from three electoral lists making it to parliament. Each party had its own constituents, with Hezbollah owing its support to the Shia community, the Future Movement to the Sunni community, and the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces to Christian communities.