Beirut II was a parliamentary constituency in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. It covered three neighbourhoods (''quartiers'') of the capital; Dar El Mreisse,
Zuqaq al-Blat
Zuqaq al-Blat ( ar, زقاق البلاط) is one of the twelve quarters of Beirut.
Etymology
Zoqaq al-Blat literally means "the cobbled alley", this was a colloquial name given to the street extending from the old city to the Qantari hill and ...
and Bachoura.
Michael Hudson described Beirut II as a 'small "catch-all" district'.
This constituency was used in the 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 elections.
1960 Election Law
The constituency was established as part of the 1960 Election Law.
In the
1957 parliamentary election Beirut had been divided into two constituencies, and Dar El Mreisse, Zuqaq al-Blat and Bachoura had been part of the same constituency as
Minet el Hosn,
Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
,
Ras Beirut
Ras Beirut ("Tip of Beirut") is an upscale residential neighborhood of Beirut. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims, Druze, and secular individuals. Ras Beirut is home to some of Beirut's historically prominent families, such as th ...
and Medawar. The issue of the delimitations of the Beirut constituencies had been contested, but an agreement between Christian and Muslim leaders was reached on February 23, 1960, by which there was agreement that Beirut II would be assigned two Muslim seats and one Maronite seat. The Election Law was passed in April 1960, with three seats for Beirut II (1 Sunni, 1 Shia, 1 Minorities).
Demographics
Beirut II was described as a sort of 'buffer zone' between the Muslim West Beirut and the Christian East Beirut.
As of 1960 it was estimated that Beirut II had 18,740 Sunni Muslim voters, 10,153 Shia Muslims, 3,103 Maronites, 1,153 Greek Orthodox, 1,168 Greek Catholic, 3,736 Armenian Orthodox, 2,435 Minorities, 952 Armenian Catholics, 731 Protestants and 863 Druze.
1960 election
In the
1960 parliamentary election a list radicals led by
Adnan al-Hakim
Adnan Al-Hakim (died May 26, 1990) was the leader of the Najjadeh Party, an Arab nationalist party in Lebanon, for more than 30 years. He defined the politics of the party significantly. He was elected to parliament in 1956, and again in 1960 and ...
won the three seats, defeating notable leaders like
Rashid Baydoun,
Moussa de Freige and
Takieddin el-Solh
Takieddin el-Solh (also Takieddin Solh, Takieddin as-Solh; ar, تقي الدين الصلح) (1908 – 27 November 1988) was a Lebanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1973 to 1974, and again briefly in 1980.
El- ...
. The
Najjadeh Party
By the name "the rescuers" or "the helpers" ( ar, حزب النجادة , ''Hizb An-Najjadah'', ''Najjadah'', ''Najjadeh'' or ''Najjada'') is an Arab nationalist political party that appeared in Lebanon during the 1930s.
Origins
Lebanon in th ...
leader Al-Hakim won the Sunni seat, prominent liberal Muhsin Salim won the Shia seat and
Farid Jubran Farid Youssef Jubran ( ar, فريد يوسف جبران) was a Lebanese Latin Catholic politician. He was born in 1911. Jubran was one of the co-founders of the Progressive Socialist Party in 1949. Outside politics Jubran owned a Beirut-based audit ...
(
Latin Catholic
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
, belonging to the
Progressive Socialist Party
The Progressive Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي, translit=al-Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki) is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon ...
) won the Minorities seat.
It was believed that
Kataeb
The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the la ...
advances in
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
had prompted the Muslim voters in Beirut II to back al-Hakim whilst most Christian voters had abstained. Moreover, al-Hakim was believed to have gotten support from leftwing Armenians sympathizing with the
Huntchak Party.
1964 and 1968 elections
In the
1964 parliamentary election Sami as-Solh
Sami Solh or Sami El Solh ( ar, سامي الصلح) (1887–1968) was a Lebanese Sunni Muslim politician. He was a relative of former Lebanese prime ministers Riad Solh, Takieddine Solh and Rachid Solh. He served as Prime Minister of Lebanon fiv ...
emerged victorious, probably with the support from the Christian voters.
As-Solh defeated al-Hakim with a margin of just 75 votes.
Rashid Baydoun won the Shia seat. Jubran retained the Minorities seat.
In the
Lebanese general election, 1968 in Beirut II a list of al-Hakim, Jubran and Abd al-Majid az-Zayn (Shia) won the three seats and defeated the candidatures of Sami and Takieddin as-Solh.
[Zuwiyya, Jalal. ]
The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968
'. Leiden: Brill, 1972. pp. 13, 17–20
1972 election
In the
1972 parliamentary election, the last to be held before the outbreak of the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
, a list of
Rashid as-Solh
Rachid Solh ( ar, رشيد الصلح; 22 June 1926 – 27 June 2014) was a Lebanese politician and former Prime Minister, kin of one of the most eminent Sunni Muslim families in the country that brought several of its members to the office o ...
(allied with the
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ( ar, الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') or Mouvement National Libanais (MNL) in French, was a front of leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist par ...
) and Jubran won a landslide in Beirut II.
Al-Hakim lost his seat. However, the Shia candidate on the al-Hakim list Mohammad Yousuf Baydoun was elected.
After the Civil War, a new set-up of constituencies was used ahead of the
1992 general election abolishing the 1960 Election Law constituencies.
References
{{Electoral districts of Lebanon
Electoral districts of Lebanon
Beirut 02
Beirut 02
Beirut 02