Owing to the heated competition that marked the municipal elections in Zahle and to the nature of the rival political and partisan forces running for office this year, the 2016 electoral battle in the city was dubbed once again the “mother of all battles”, as was the case during the municipal elections in 2009. In addition to the Christians represented by the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Phalanges, the Popular Bloc and MP Nicolas Fattoush, the local players also included Hezbollah and the Future Movement, especially among the Shia’a and Sunni voters.
The municipal race resulted in a sweeping victory for the coalition of Christian forces, which won all 21 seats. Upon issuance of the polling station results by the Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities, Information International examined the findings and mapped out the votes by sect.
Results broken down by sect
| Sect | # of voters | % | Zahle Development | Zahle Al-Amana | Zahle Deserves |
| Greek Catholic | 7,800 | 40 | 3,570 | 2,200 | 1,180 |
| Maronite | 6,655 | 46.1 | 3,740 | 1,420 | 1,040 |
| Greek Orthodox | 2,512 | 32.7 | 1,300 | 660 | 500 |
| Syrian Orthodox | 2,350 | 43.7 | 1,210 | 510 | 450 |
| Armenians and Christian minorities | 1427 | 21 | 296 | 350 | 430 |
| Shia’a | 3,878 | 56 | 250 (without FPM candidates) | 1,550 | 1,850 |
| Sunni | 2,264 | 54.5 | 220 | 1,240 | 555 |
| Total | 26,886 | 41.6 | 10,586 | 7,930 | 6,005 |
