1968 Lebanese general election in Tripoli City

Voting to elect five members of the Lebanese parliament took place in Tripoli City in 1968, part of the national general election of that year (the rural areas of Tripoli District had a separate constituency).[1][2] Four of the seats of the constituency were earmarked for the Sunni Muslim community, whilst the fifth seat was allocated to the Greek Orthodox community (for more information about the Lebanese election system, see Elections in Lebanon).[1][3] The Tripoli City constituency had 64,913 eligible voters, out of whom 22,813 voted.[4]

Candidates

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Fourteen candidates took part in the election. There were two multi-candidate tickets, with the remaining candidates contesting of individual tickets.[1]

Democratic Front ticket

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The leader of the Parliamentary Democratic Front and former Prime Minister Rashid Karami led a ticket of five incumbent parliamentarians.[1][2] Karami's cabinet had resigned in February 1968, and an interim administration under Abdallah al-Yafi took over to prepare for the elections.[5]

Karami himself was the first candidate on the list.[1][2] The other candidates of the Democratic Front were Salim Kabbarah (lawyer by profession, parliamentarian since 1964), Hashim al-Husayni (physician, leader of Movements of Peace Partisans, parliamentarian since 1957), Amin al-Hafiz (economist, professor at Lebanese University, parliamentarian since 1960) and Fuad al-Burt (Greek Orthodox businessman, parliamentarian since 1953).[1][2]

Leftist ticket

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Karami's ticket was challenged by a left-wing ticket headed by Abd al-Majid ar-Rafi, the leader of the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath Party.[1][6][7] Other candidates on the ticket were Umar Bisar (physician, political independent) and M. as-Saydawi (school teacher, said to represent the underground Lebanese Communist Party). The leftist ticket accused Karami of being a representative of Lebanese capitalism. They also used the campaign to highlight the issue of Palestine, calling for its liberation.[1]

Results

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All the candidates of the Democratic Front ticket were re-elected.[1][2]

Candidate Votes
Rashid Karami 18,194
Hashim al-Husayni 16,328
Fuad al-Burt 16,289
Amin al-Hafiz 16,243
Salim Kabbarah 15,201
Abd al-Majid ar-Rafi 13,008
Umar Bissar 10,805
M. as-Saydawi 10,695
Maurice Fadil 9,039
Faruq al-Muqaddam 5,810
Sa'd Allah Shaban 2,218
Abdallah Bissar 1,365
Ahmad Najjat Hajir 588
Muhammad al-Ghandur 270

[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zuwiyya, Jalal. The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968. Leiden: Brill, 1972. pp. 25-27
  2. ^ a b c d e Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record. Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1968. pp. 641
  3. ^ Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record. Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1960. pp. 350-351
  4. ^ Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ, and Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah. Middle East Record. Tel Aviv: Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1968. pp. 637
  5. ^ The Middle East and North Africa 2003. London: Europa Publications, 2003. p. 686
  6. ^ Solh, Raghid El-. Lebanon and Arabism. London: I. B. Tauris in association with the Centre for Lebanese Studies, 2004. p. 331
  7. ^ Rabinovich, Itamar, and Itamar Rabinovich. The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985. p. 79