Tripoli's Municipal Elections 2016

The fourth and final round of the municipal and ikhtiyariah elections held on Sunday, May 29, 2016 in Tripoli yielded an entirely unforeseen and resounding result that took everyone by surprise.  The Tripoli’s Choice List backed by former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi scooped up 16 seats of Tripoli’s 24-member municipal council, leaving only six seats to the For Tripoli List backed by a broad coalition of major political players including the Future Movement, former Premier Najib Mikati, former ministers Mohammad Safadi and Faisal Karami as well as the Islamic Jama’a and the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects. 

Rifi’s stunning win triggered an outpouring of analysis and debate on the new political weights in the city and their implications on Tripoli’s political landscape as well as on the upcoming parliamentary elections and subsequently the premiership. 

2010 elections

Registered voters totaled 156,098 in 2010 with an approximate 24.6% - 38,510 voters- casting their ballots. The percentage stood at 46.3% in the 2009 municipal elections.
The Tripoli Consensus List including the Future Movement, Premier Omar Karami, Premier Najib Mikati, minister Mohammad Safadi and the city’s deputies emerged victorious in the municipal elections of 2010. It obtained an average of 14,738 votes accounting for 38.3% of all the votes. The rival list backed by former MP Omar Majid El-Rafei garnered 10% while the remaining votes, totaling roughly 20,000, were distributed among 25 independent candidates. 

Independent candidates :

Free Patriotic Movement
Mohammad Said Baroudi(429 votes)

The Mouwatinoun wa Mouwatinat fi Dawla movement (Citizens within a State)
Rami Assoum (945 votes)

Arabi Khalil Akkawi (4,411 votes)
down from 20,711 votes in 2010 when he outshone the head of the list Nader El-Ghazal who received 17,354 votes.

2016 elections

88 candidates ran for office in Tripoli’s municipal elections in 2016. The candidates were mainly divided among two complete lists (For Tripoli and Tripoli’s Choice lists) and two incomplete ones (the Tripoli Capital List comprising 14 candidates and the 2022 List comprising four candidates who cooperated with the Tripoli Capital list.)
The voters who turned out for the elections totaled 45,380 or roughly 25.8% compared to 24.6% in 2010. This slight increase reflects apathy among Tripoli’s voters vis-à-vis the contesting lists, for 60% of those voters live in Tripoli, contrary to the case in Beirut. 
The Tripoli’s Choice List amassed an average of 16,475 votes- roughly 36.3% of all the votes- dominating 16 seats in the municipal council. On the other hand, an average of 15,427 votes equaling 34% was gained by the For Tripoli list, which thus secured eight seats. The difference between the two lists amounted to 1,048 votes, a number that indicates an intense competition. 
Compared to the 2010 electoral results, one can observe a decline in the popularity of the Tripoli Consensus List (named For Tripoli this year) by roughly 4%  (it obtained at the time 14,738 votes or roughly 38.3%), which is the reason behind its loss. Conversely, the Tripoli’s Choice List was able to assemble all the votes that were scattered in 2010, thus achieving victory.  
By sects and neighborhoods, the results broke down as follows:
9,245 voters cast their ballots in Haddadine where Tripoli’s Choice surpassed For Tripoli by 71 votes by garnering 3,277 votes against 3,206.
Voter turnout among the Alawite voters in Tebbaneh (Jabal Mohsen) was somewhat low, with only 3,087 voters (20%) heading to polling stations. 
In Qebbeh where the percentage of Christian voters (Greek Orthodox and Maronite) is fairly high, only 950 voters (25%) out of 3,820 participated in the electoral process. For Tripoli was slightly ahead of its rival in the Qebbeh’s polling stations.

Results broken down by neighborhood

For Tripoli proved superior in Zahriyeh, Mhetra and El-Tall while Tripoli's Choiced advanced in Sweiqa, Hadid and Qebbeh. Scores were pretty close in Haddadine, Nouri, Remmaneh and Tebbaneh. 

Results broken down by sect

Trpoli's Choice advanced by 68% among Sunni voters. For Tripoli advanced by 11.1% among Christian voters. For Tripoli advanced by 32.6% among Alawite voters.