1968 Lebanese general election in Zgharta District

Last updated

Voting to elect three members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Zgharta District in northern Lebanon in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. [1] All of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Maronite community (for more information about the Lebanese election system, see Elections in Lebanon). [1] [2] Zgharta District had 35,099 eligible voters, out of whom 13,412 voted. [3]

Zgharta District District in North Governorate, Lebanon

Zgharta District is a district (qadaa) of the North Governorate, northern Lebanon. Its capital is the city of Zgharta.

Lebanon Country in Western Asia

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized sovereign state on the mainland Asian continent.

General elections were held in Lebanon between 24 March and 7 April 1968. Independent candidates won the majority of seats, although many of them were considered to be members of various blocs. Voter turnout was 49.6%.

Contents

Background

In the years preceding the election Zgharta had witnessed violent clashes between different Maronite families, conflicts that carried political overtones. In 1965 clashes erupted between the Douaihy and Karam families. In January 1967 the driver of parliamentarian Sam'an Douaihy was shot dead. This act provoked the declaration of Zgharta as a military zone, and soldiers and policemen poured into the area. Night curfew was issued. [4]

Douaihy

The House of El Douaihy, is an important Lebanese and Levantine noble family of French origins of which can be traced up until the 7th century. The first prominent feudal northern Lebanese Maronite Sheikhs (Lords) to have governed Zgharta and Ehden, in northern Lebanon came from the Douaihy clan.

Zgharta was the home turf of Maronite strongman Suleiman Frangieh, landlord and one of the most powerful politicians in the country. [1] [5] [6] He had been appointed as Minister of Interior earlier the same year, with the task of overseeing the elections. [1] [7] The Frangieh family owned mulberry plantations in the area. [8] Manifesting its political influence the clan founded an armed militia under their command in the same year, the Zgharta Liberation Army. [9]

Suleiman Frangieh Lebanese President

Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh, last name also spelled Frangié,Franjieh, or Franjiyeh, was a Lebanese Maronite politician, President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976.

Frangieh, also spelled Frangié, Franjieh, or Franjiyeh, is a prominent Lebanese political family.

Zgharta Liberation Army

The Zgharta Liberation Army or Zghartawi Liberation Army – ZLA was the paramilitary branch of the Lebanese Marada Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. The militia was formed in 1967 on President Suleiman Frangieh's instructions as the Marada Brigade seven years before the war began. The force was initially commanded by Suleiman Franjieh's son, Tony Frangieh. It operated mainly out of Tripoli and Zgharta, but it also fought in Beirut. The ZLA fought against various Palestinian and Lebanese Muslim militias as well as the Lebanese Forces in Bsharri and Ehden.

Frangieh ticket

In the 1968 election Frangieh fielded a ticket with three candidates, headed by himself. His running mates were René Moawad and Father Sam'an Douaihy. [1] All three were incumbent parliamentarians. [1] [5]

René Moawad politician

René Moawad as 13th President of Lebanon for 17 days in 1989, from the 5 to 22 November, when he was assassinated by unknown assailants.

René Moawad was a parliamentarian affiliated with the Democratic Front. He had been elected to parliament from 1957 onwards. [1] Professionally, he was a lawyer. [5]

Once a foe of Frangieh, Father Sam'an Douaihy had joined forces with the local strongman ahead of the 1964 election. Douaihy was the first priest ever to be elected to the Lebanese parliament. [1] He was a member of the National Liberal Party. [1] [5]

General elections were held in Lebanon between 5 April and 3 May 1964. Independent candidates won the majority of seats. Voter turnout was 53.0%.

National Liberal Party (Lebanon) political party in Lebanon

The National Liberal Party is a center-right political party in Lebanon, established by President Camille Chamoun in 1958. It is now under the leadership of Dory Chamoun, his son.

The challenger

Only one man attempted to challenge the hegemony of Frangieh. As'ad Karam, running on an individual ticket, was a 27-year-old student of law at Saint Joseph University. He lacked electoral experience, but was son of former parliamentarian Youssef Salim Karam. [1]

Results

All three candidates on the Frangieh ticket were re-elected. Karam did however muster a significant portion of the votes, considering Frangieh's dominance over the political life of the constituency. [1] [5]

CandidateVotes
Suleiman Frangieh10,569
René Moawad8,774
Sam'an Douaihy8,164
As'ad Karam5,027

[1]

Related Research Articles

Aryeh Azulai was the third mayor of the city Ashdod in israel.

Voting to elect eight members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Beirut I district on March 24, 1968, part of the national general election of that year. The constituency had 98,439 eligible voters, out of whom 28,631 voted. The elections in Beirut I passed smoothly without violent incidents.

Voting to elect three members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Beirut II district on March 24, 1968, part of the national general election of that year. The constituency had 34,113 eligible voters, out of whom 17,004 voted.

Voting to elect five members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Beirut III district on March 24, 1968, part of the national general election of that year. The constituency had 75,296 eligible voters, out of whom 30,713 voted.

Voting to elect two members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Koura District in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Both of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Greek Orthodox community. Koura District had 31,531 eligible voters, out of whom 13,753 voted. Three tickets contested the election. The election was marred by violent incidents and threats.

Voting to elect two members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Bsharri District in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Both of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Maronite community. Bsharri District had 32,814 eligible voters, out of whom 16,064 voted. Three separate tickets contested the election. The election was carried out without reports of violent incidents.

Voting to elect five members of the Lebanese parliament took place in Tripoli City in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Four of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Sunni Muslim community, whilst the fifth seat was allocated to the Greek Orthodox community. The Tripoli City constituency had 64,913 eligible voters, out of whom 22,813 voted.

Voting to elect two members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Batroun District in northern Lebanon in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Both of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Maronite community. Batroun District had 24,331 eligible voters, out of whom 9,458 voted. It had the lowest number of eligible as well as actual voters of all constituencies in the country. Seven candidates contested the election. The constituency witnessed a clash of both organized political parties as well as family interests.

Voting to elect four members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Akkar District in 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Two of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Sunni Muslim community, one seat for the Greek Orthodox and one for the Maronites. Akkar was the most underdeveloped area of northern Lebanon, politically dominated by landlords. The elections were marred by accusations of vote-buying and minor violent incidents. The constituency had 71,899 eligible voters, out of whom 30,282 voted.

Voting to elect eight members of the Lebanese parliament took place in Chouf District on April 7, 1968, as part of the national general election of that year. Three of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Maronite community, two for the Sunni Muslim, two for the Druze whilst the last seat was allocated to the Greek Catholics. The Chouf District constituency had 78,557 eligible voters, out of whom 46,056 voted. All in all Chouf District was one of the most hotly contested constituencies in the election, being the home turf of Camille Chamoun and Kamal Jumblatt. The situation in the constituency was tense, but the polls went through without violent incidents. However, Jumblatt did accuse 'a large embassy in Beirut' of buying votes for Chamoun.

On January 10, 1971 a by-poll was held to elect a member of parliament from one of the Sunni Muslim seats from Chouf District in the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies. The constituency was a very sensitive area, as it was the home to arch-rivals Kamal Jumblatt and Camille Chamoun. The election was described by contemporary observers as the 'most fiery Lebanon had ever witnessed in a by-election'. There was a massive presence of security forces deployed in the constituency during the campaign and on the voting day in particular.

The Progressive Arab Front was a political coalition in Lebanon, founded by Kamal Jumblatt in October 1961. The coalition was founded in response to the break-up of the United Arab Republic. It opposed the Syrian separatism and called for support to Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Progressive Arab Front consisted of the Progressive Socialist Party and the Arab Nationalist Movement. It largely corresponded to the parliamentary National Struggle Front, but through the Progressive Arab Front the parliamentarian Issam al-Hajjar joined the six PSP members in the Chamber of Deputies. The program of the Progressive Arab Front was based on Arab nationalism and socialism.

Salim Abd an-Nur, a Lebanese Greek Catholic politician. He graduated from the Jesuit School in Beirut, after which he pursued a business career. His political life began in 1959, when he successfully ran for parliament in the by-poll in Chouf District after the killing on the incumbent parliamentarian Na'im Mghabghab. He was re-elected in 1960 as a Progressive Socialist Party candidate, but was defeated in 1964 and 1968.

Voting to elect four members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the predominantly Shia Muslim Marjeyoun-Hasbaya constituency in southern Lebanon on March 31, 1968, part of the national general election of that year. Two of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Shia Muslim community, one for the Sunni Muslims and one for the Greek Orthodox. The constituency had 45,849 eligible voters, out of whom 23,224 voted. The polling day was marred by heavy rains.

Ibrahim al-Abdullah is a Lebanese journalist and politician. Al-Abdallah studied at the Sagesse College and obtained a license degree in political science. He went on to work as a journalist; between 1953 and 1958 he worked at the ad-Diyar newspaper. He was also employed as an officer in the Chamber of Deputies.

As'ad Adib Bayudh was a Lebanese Greek Orthodox politician. He was elected to the Parliament of Lebanon from the Marjeyoun-Hasbaya constituency in southern Lebanon in the 1960 and 1964 elections.

National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria

The National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria was a coalition of Syrian opposition groups, supported by the Iraqi government. The foundation of the National Alliance took place in Paris in March 1982. The charter of the National Alliance was tramsitted by Voice of Arab Syria on March 22, 1982. The National Alliance called for armed popular struggle in order to topple the al-Assad regime.

The Voice of the Mountain was a radio station operated by the Progressive Socialist Party during the Lebanese Civil War.

Beirut I (1960)

Beirut I was a parliamentary constituency in Lebanon. It covered six neighbourhoods (quartiers) of the capital; Achrafieh, Medawar, Minet El Hosn, Port, Rmeil and Saifi. It elected eight Christian parliamentarians; three Armenian Orthodox, one Armenian Catholic, one Protestant, one Maronite, one Greek Orthodox and one Greek Catholic. This constituency was used in the 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 elections.

Zaher el-Khatib is a Lebanese Sunni politician. He was born in 1940. He obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the Lebanese University. As of 2018, he served as General Secretary of the Toilers League.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Zuwiyya, Jalal. The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968 . Leiden: Brill, 1972. pp. 32-33
  2. ↑ Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record . Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1960. pp. 350-351
  3. ↑ Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record . Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1968. p. 637
  4. ↑ Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record . Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1971. p. 442
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record . Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1968. p. 641
  6. ↑ Mermier, Franck, and Sabrina Mervin. Leaders et partisans au Liban . 2012. p. 11
  7. ↑ Who's Who in Lebanon . Beirut: Publitec publications, 1986. p. 153
  8. ↑ International Affairs, Eds. 7–12 . Znanye Publishing House, 1970. p. 124
  9. ↑ Tachau, Frank. Political Parties of the Middle East and North Africa . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1994. p. 315
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.