Behind the Beirut families union election

The Union of Associations of Beirut Families held its elections on August 29 to choose a new administrative board. The race mainly came down to two competing lists: the Independent Beirut Families list, backed by MP Fouad Makhzoumi, and the “Qouwatna Fi Al-Ittihad” list, supported by the Future Movement and its allies.

Who won, and by how much?

The elections were held with 238 of 273 eligible voters taking part. The Makhzoumi-backed Independent Beirut Families list won 11 of the 18 seats: accountant Jamil Hout with 139 votes, member Nader Chaar with 137, secretary Ziad Dandan with 130, treasurer Bassem Naamany with 126, member Haitham Yassine with 121, member Abdel Razzaq Fayed with 118, member Maria Adada with 116, member Naji Khayat with 115, President Walid Qubbi with 112, member Marwan Safah with 110 and member Khaled al-Qorq with 109.

The Future Movement/allies list won the remaining seven seats: member Mounir al-Hafi with 125 votes, government commissioner Rami Itani with 121, member Hassan Barbour with 114, member Khoder Lawand with 114, member Walid Dimashqieh with 111, vice-president Nada Yamout with 110 and member Sami Bleik with 109. The leadership positions were finalized when the new administrative board was formed on August 31.

The result marked a change from the Union’s previous balance, with the Makhzoumi-backed list taking a majority of the seats. The outcome also drew attention because for years the Beirut families’ union was part of the political landscape, the former PM Rafic Hariri and then his son Saad Hariri dominated, and which traditionally has been the strongest player among Sunni voters in Beirut.

A “Healthy and democratic election”

Mounir al-Hafi, a newly elected member of the Union’s administrative board from the “Qouwatna Fi Al-Ittihad” list, pushes back against reading the result as evidence of a broader political shift in Beirut. Speaking to The Beiruter, Hafi described the election as “healthy and democratic”.

“I respect the results of the elections for the new administrative body, which brought both new and experienced faces to the Union of Beirut Families Associations.”

For Hafi, saying that the political preferences of Beirut’s residents have shifted from supporting one political movement to another is an oversimplification.

“This can only be determined through elections covering all of Beirut, not through one family association made up of just 91 families. The association has 273 eligible voters, of whom 238 actually took part in the vote.”

While many candidates have political backgrounds, Hafi said, “this does not mean that political parties fought the electoral battle.”

Closely connected

Two main lists competed, along with a third list of three candidates, for leadership of the union, which is made up of 91 Beirut families. Hafi pointed out that “these families are closely connected through kinship and marriage.”

He noted that political differences can exist even within the same family, with brothers or cousins supporting different political positions. “This is a reality in politics, and particularly in Lebanon and Beirut,” he said.

According to the newly elected member, people always want to see progress in any association or group, whether social or political. The respected families that voted clearly want to see the union develop and improve, he noted. He argued that describing the result as “one political party” defeating another is inaccurate, saying the contest was primarily social and community-based, at least from the side of his list, “Our Strength Is in the Union.”

Hafi said his priority is for the union to succeed, serve Beirut and its people, and preserve its unity while continuing to develop its social role.