Popular Bloc الكتلة الشعبية | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Myriam Skaff |
| Founder | Joseph Skaff |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarters | Zahle, Lebanon |
| Ideology | Feudalism Christian democracy |
| Parliament of Lebanon | 0 / 128 |
| Cabinet of Lebanon | 0 / 30 |
The Skaff Bloc or Popular Bloc, led by Myriam Skaff, is a political party and an electoral coalition in the Lebanese Parliament that aligned with the Free Patriotic Movement from 2005 to 2009.
The bloc was initially founded by Joseph Skaff who supported multiple candidates in the Beqaa region to run under his electoral lists. The lists were successful between 1947 and 1972. [1]
During the 21st century it became a part of the current Lebanese opposition Change and Reform bloc, headed by Michel Aoun. In 2005, they manage to obtain most of the seats in the Zahle district. In 2009, the party lost all its deputies after the victory of the 14 March alliance in the district. After the death of Elias Skaff on 10 October 2015, his wife, Myriam Skaff, took control of the party. During the Lebanese municipal election of 2016 in Zahle, an attempt at forging an electoral coalition with the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces failed, prompting the Popular bloc to run against the Christian parties and Nicolas Fattouche list. [2] The alliance broke definitively with the Change and Reform bloc.
The party resumed operations during the 2018 Lebanese general elections, however failed to win any seats with 10,563 votes in total. [3] [4]
Myriam Skaff headed a 6-member list in the district of Zahle during the 2022 Lebanese general election but failed to win any seats. In total they managed to receive 11,501 votes which was 938 more than the last elections. The votes were distributed as such: Myriam Skaff of the Greek Catholic seat received 4825, Maroun Makhoul of the Maronite seat received 317 votes, Sami Nabhan of the Greek Orthodox received 274 votes, Mohammad Hammoud of the Sunni seat received 5869 votes, [5] Fawzat Dalloul of the Shiite seat received 83 votes and Narik Ibrahimian of the Armenian Orthodox seat received 133 votes. [6]
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. Lebanon was ranked second most electoral democracy in the Middle East according to V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 with a score of 0.157 out of 1. Those who are above 21 and are non active military personal are permitted to vote.
The Lebanese Parliament is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations but with half of the seats reserved for Christians and half reserved to Muslims per Constitutional Article 24. Lebanon has universal adult suffrage. Its major functions are to elect the President of the republic, to approve the government, and to approve laws and expenditure.
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Elias (Elie) Skaff, in Arabic الياس سكاف, was a Lebanese politician and leader of the "Popular Bloc".
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General elections were held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. Although originally scheduled for 2013, the election was postponed three times in 2013, 2014 and 2017 for various reasons, including the security situation, the failure of the Parliament to elect a new President, and the technical requirements of holding an election. A new electoral law adopted in 2017 provides a proportional representation system for the first time.
Beirut I is an electoral district in Lebanon. The district elects eight members of the Lebanese National Assembly – three Armenian Orthodox, one Armenian Catholic, one Greek Catholic, one Greek Orthodox, one Maronite and one Minorities.
Bekaa I is an electoral district in Lebanon, as per the 2017 vote law. The district elects 2 Greek Catholic parliamentarians, 1 Maronite, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Armenian Orthodox, 1 Shia and 1 Sunni. The electoral district covers the qada of Zahle. The electoral district retained the geographic boundaries and seat allocation of the Zahle electoral district from the previous electoral law.
A total of 583 candidates contested the 2018 Lebanese general election, running on 77 lists.
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General elections were held in Lebanon on 15 May 2022 to elect all 128 members of the Lebanese Parliament. The country has for several years been the subject of chronic political instability as well as a serious economic crisis aggravated by the 2020 explosions that hit the Port of Beirut and faced large-scale demonstrations against the political class.
Joseph Elias Tohme Skaf was a Lebanese politician who is considered one of the most prominent personalities of the Skaff family in the city of Zahle. He held several ministerial positions from 1955 to 1988 under 5 different presidents which include Camille Chamoun, Fouad Chehab, Suleiman Franjieh, Elias Sarkis and Amine Gemayel.
Myriam Gebran Tawk is a Lebanese politician who is a prominent member of the Skaff family in the city of Zahle and the leader of the Popular Bloc, succeeding her late husband Elias Skaff.
Voting to elect seven members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Bekaa I district on 6 May 2018, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 172,555 voters, out of whom 94,082 voted. The district elects 2 Greek Catholic parliamentarians, 1 Maronite, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Armenian Orthodox, 1 Shia and 1 Sunni.
Voting to elect six members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Bekaa II district on 6 May 2018, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 143,653 who voted. The district elects 2 Sunni, 1 Druze, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Maronite, 1 Shia. It covers the West Bekaa and the Rashaya districts.
Voting to elect six members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the North I district on 6 May 2018, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 137,550 who voted. The district elects 3 Sunni, 2 Greek Orthodox, 1 Maronite, 1 Alawite. It covers the Akkar district.
Voting to elect eight members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Mount Lebanon I district on 6 May 2018, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 176,818 registered voters, out of whom 115,619 voted.
Voting to elect eight members of the Lebanese parliament took place in the Beirut I district on 15 May 2022, part of the general election of that year. The constituency had 134,886 registered voters out of whom 48,311 voted.
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