1972 Lebanese general election in Beirut III

Last updated September 12, 2019

Voting to elect five members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Beirut III district (one of three electoral districts in the city) in 1972, as part of the national general election of that year. Beirut III, consisting of the predominantly Muslim part of the city, had 4 Sunni Muslim seats and 1 Greek Orthodox seat (for more information about the Lebanese election system, see Elections in Lebanon).^[1]^[2]

General elections were held in Lebanon between 16 and 30 April 1972. Independent candidates won the majority of seats, although most of them were considered members of various blocs. Voter turnout was 54.4%.

Elections in Lebanon are allotted to occur every four years. Every citizen is allowed to vote, but the positions are constitutionally allocated by religious affiliation. In 2014, the Parliament failed to elect a president and extended its own term.

The election in Beirut III was fiercely contested, with small margins between winning and losing sides.^[3] Two lists of candidates were in the fray in Beirut III, a list led by incumbent Prime Minister of Lebanon Saeb Salam and a list led by former Prime Minister Abdallah El-Yafi. There were also a number of independent candidates.^[4]

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, officially the President of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Lebanon, with no confirmation needed from the Parliament of Lebanon. By convention, he is always a Sunni Muslim.

Saeb Salam was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily As-Safir described Salam as "most successful in dealing with the media and in presenting a particular image of himself to people on a daily basis through wearing his customary carnation ... and expounding unforgettable slogans", and that he was Lebanon's most popular prime minister after independence leader Riad Al Solh. A significant aspect of Salam was that, unlike other Lebanese leaders, he did not act as a chief over a particular area in the country. Salam fiercely advocated the unity of Lebanon.

Abdallah El-Yafi was the Prime Minister of Lebanon serving twelve times between 1938 and 1969.

The election of Nasserist politician Najah Wakim, a leader of the Union of Working People's Forces, for the Greek Orthodox seat was one of the big surprises of the 1972 election.^[5]^[6] He did not run on any of the major lists, but Wakim unseated the veteran Greek Orthodox politician Nasim Majdalani. The Greek Orthodox community held a demonstration protesting against Wakim's election, arguing that he had been elected by Sunni voters.^[5]

Najah Wakim is the president and one of the founders of the Lebanese leftist group the People's Movement. He is a secular Lebanese lawyer who believes in secular Arabist ideology.

The Union of Working People's Forces was a Nasserist political party in Lebanon. The party was founded in 1965 by Kamal Chatila and Najah Wakim. Chatila was the general secretary of the party. The party represented a right-wing tendency in the Lebanese Nasserist movement.

Results

Candidate	List	Votes	Sect
Saeb Salam	Salam	18,425	Sunni
Zaki Mazboudi	Salam	16,489	Sunni
Najah Wakim	Independent	16,033	Greek Orthodox
Jamil Kibbi	Salam	13,300	Sunni
Uthman ad-Dana	El-Yafi	12,872	Sunni
Usama al-Fakhuri	El-Yafi	12,264	Sunni
Shafik Wazzan	Salam	12,086	Sunni
Nasim Majdalani	Salam	11,031	Greek Orthodox
Mu'in Hamud	Independent	9,492	Sunni
Muhammad Itani	El-Yafi	9,081	Sunni
Abdallah El-Yafi	El-Yafi	8,734	Sunni
Roger Assi	El-Yafi	7,503	Greek Orthodox
Hassan Saab	Independent	5,217	Sunni
Basim al-Jisr	Independent	4,165	Sunni

^[4]

In addition to the candidates in the table above, there were eight Sunni and three Greek Orthodox candidates that each received less than 4,000 votes.^[4]

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References

↑ Zuwiyya, Jalal. The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968 . Leiden: Brill, 1972. pp. 13, 20-23
↑ 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
↑ Daniel Corstange (September 2016). The Price of a Vote in the Middle East. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-107-10667-3.
1 2 3 Michael Johnson (1986). Class & Client in Beirut: The Sunni Muslim Community and the Lebanese State, 1840-1985. Ithaca Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-86372-062-8.
1 2 Farid El-Khazen; Farīd al- H̲azīn (2000). The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon, 1967-1976. Harvard University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-674-08105-5.
↑ The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985. Cornell University Press. 1985. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-8014-9313-7.

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[p1-1] Zuwiyya, Jalal. The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968 . Leiden: Brill, 1972. pp. 13, 20-23

[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

[Corstange2016-3] Daniel Corstange (September 2016). The Price of a Vote in the Middle East. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-107-10667-3.

[Johnson1986-4] 1 2 3 Michael Johnson (1986). Class & Client in Beirut: The Sunni Muslim Community and the Lebanese State, 1840-1985. Ithaca Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-86372-062-8.

[El-KhazenH̲azīn2000-5] 1 2 Farid El-Khazen; Farīd al- H̲azīn (2000). The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon, 1967-1976. Harvard University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-674-08105-5.

[a-6] The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985. Cornell University Press. 1985. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-8014-9313-7.