The Electoral List

In every district the candidates of March 8 and March 14 are listed in an electoral list, that are often give exuberant names such as the Tripoli Solidarity List or The Will of Zgharta-Zawyi List. Once the list is finalised the names are put on a pre-printed ballot paper (as pictured above) and distributed to voters. This list can be a torturing process for the two coalitions where negotiations as to who is placed on the list can lead to painful internal disputes. This has already happened most prominently with March 14 and the withdrawl of Nassib Lahoud from the Metn, the reason Lahoud stated was that he would not be on an electoral list that he did not have a part in creating. While a lack of agreement between Nabih Berri and Michel Aoun over the list in the district of Jezzine is setting up an interesting political battle.

The various electoral lists have been dripping through and the hotly contested district of Metn announced, while in Beirut 1 March 8 have announced their list but March 14 are still waiting to announce their Armenian candidates. One of the most important districts in this election, in terms of competitiveness, is Zahle and neither March 8/14 are yet to announce their candidate.

In almost all the lists there is a dominate party, from either the March 8 or March 14 coalition, heading it but on the list there are usually many 'independent' candidates. Take for example the Change and Reform list in Jbeil headed by Aoun's FPM party. The list contains two FPM party members Simon Ramia and Walid al-Khoury who are both running for the two Maronite seats but for the Shia seat a non-FPM member Abbas Hashem has been placed on the Change and Reform List. Thus, Hashem is known as a Change and Reform MP and not an FPM MP.

Interestingly in Jbeil there is one of the few non-March 14 or March 8 electoral lists headed by a former adviser to the President Nazem Khoury called the Jbeil Independent Decision List.Other lists that are headed by 'independent' candidates are in Metn and Tripoli. In the Metn the 'March 14' list is headed by Michel Murr who is viewed as an 'independent' and the Tripoli Solidarity List headed by Mohammad Mikati also seen as 'independent' (both are major political/business figures in their respective districts). Independent at the moment is translating as aligned with the President.

Important Electoral Lists - Some lists are self evident as to whether it is a March 8 or March 14 list with the name of the party i.e. Future list. Some like those below differ:

Change and Reform List (March 8) - This is the electoral list headed by Michel Aoun's FPM (The Free Patriotic Movement).

The Will of Zgharta-Zawyi List (March 8) - Headed by Sleiman Frangieh head of the Marada movement.

Tripoli Solidarity List (March 14) - Headed by Mohammad Najib Mikati who is an 'independent' and while many on this list are also 'independent' this list is viewed as March 14 list as it has three March 14 candidates on it.

The Metn Salvation List (March 14)- Headed by 'independent' Michel Murr that includes 2 Kataeb candidates (M14), 1 Lebanese Forces (M14) and 4 'Independent' candidates.