The municipal elections in Rashaya were characterized by competition between MP Walid Jumblatt and his rivals in the town, especially the former head of the municipality Ziad Al-Aryan, former MP Faisal Daoud and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The elections resulted in victory for the list backed by Jumblatt.
2010 Elections
Two lists contested over the 15-seat municipal council of Rashaya in 2010.
- The “Youth and Change” List backed by the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP).
- The “Development of Rashaya” List headed by Ziad Al-Aryan and backed by former MP Faisal Daoud, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Free Patriotic Movement.
The first list won the elections scooping an average of 1,389 votes (52.2%) against 1,156 (43%) for the rival list, that is a win by an average of 233 votes. The votes separating the lowest vote-gainer among winners and the top vote-gainer among losers was 58.
2016 Elections
The same scenario recurred in 2016 between the two following lists:
- “Youth for the Development of Rashaya”, a PSP-backed list headed by Bassam Dalal
- “The People of Rashaya”, a list headed by Ziad Al-Aryan and backed by former MP Faisal Daoud and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
The PSP-backed list emerged victorious bagging an average of 1,709 votes (57.9% of the total vote) compared to an average of 1,055 votes (35.8%) for the rival list, i.e. a margin of 654 votes, up from 233 in 2010. The top vote-gainer on the losing list obtained 398 votes less than the lowest scorer on the winning one.
The results demonstrated the growing electoral force of both MP Walid Jumblatt and minister and MP Wael Bou Faour in Rashaya. The results dissected by polling stations and sects revealed that the Youth for the Development of Rashaya list proved superior among the Druze voters while the People of Rashaya predominated among the Orthodox and Catholic ones.
