The formation of the Lebanese Government was formally announced this early evening. The Government will consist of twenty-four Ministers including Zgharta Zawie Member of Parliament, Mrs Nayla René Mouawad, as Minister of Social Affairs.

The Ministry of Social Affairs was created in 1993 although some of its responsibilities date back to the 1960’s when the Social Development Office was established. Its activities cover a wide spectrum of Lebanese life - social welfare, disability, the elderly, drug addiction, juvenile delinquency and social development. The Ministry web site is www.socialaffairs.gov.lb which has both Arabic and English versions.

Mrs Mouawad is one of six women Members of Parliament in the current Parliament. In the General Election of 1992 there were elected, for the first time, three women Members of Parliament, including Mrs Mouawad. The number remained the same in the General Elections of 1996 and 2000. Her appointment as Minister of Social Affairs is only the second Lebanese Government in Lebanon’s history, which has included a women minister. The first time was when the government of former Prime Minister Omar Karami (21st October 2004 - 1st March 2005) included Mrs. Layla Al- Solh as Minister of Industry and Mrs. Wafa Hamza as a Minister of State.

To see the full list of the members of the Lebanese Government click on the Full Story tab

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At the opening of the Lebanese Parliament on Tuesday, 28th June, Zgharta Member of Parliament, Jawad Boulos, was elected as one of the two Parliamentary Secretaries.

The principal officers of Parliament, who are elected by its members, are the, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, two Secretaries and three Commissioners.The officers form a Parliamentary Bureau Board who writes and publishes the agenda of every meeting for the Members of Parliament, directs meetings and voting, declares voting results, prepares the annual budget of the Parliament, controls its execution, approves staff appointments, and studies petitions and complaints. If a demand is made to remove a Member of Parliament's legal immunity the Speaker convenes a joint meeting of the Board and Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee, where a decision is made.

The photograph shows Jawad Bolous at a rally earlier this year.

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On Sunday, 19th June, it seemed that all the eyes of the world’s media were directed towards North Lebanon, with Zgharta often mentioned. Television, radio and online newspapers were reporting events as they unfolded. Some online news site could not cope with the additional traffic and users could not log on at the first or even fifth try. Everyone in the Zgharta Zawie worldwide community appeared to have either stayed up or got up early to find out the latest news.

The official results have yet to be announced by the Ministry for the Interior at the time of this article (8am Zgharta time). Unofficial figures for the whole of the 2nd Constituency show that the voting figures for the main candidates of Zgharta Zawie, based on 470 out of 771 ballot boxes, are as follows:

Nayla René Mouawad: 61,999
Samir Frangieh: 61,970
Jawad Boulos: 61,963
Sleiman Tony Frangieh: 60,810
Estephane Doueihi: 59,091
Salim Karam: 58,616

We stress that these are unofficial figures mentioned in the Lebanese media and are subject to the other ballot box results and official verification. Turnout for Zgharta Zawie is estimated at 52.5%.Election monitors were reported as saying that "Zgharta was calm".

This weekend will see the final stage of the General Election when on Sunday, 19^th June, the two constituencies of North Lebanon will vote, being the last region to vote in the 2005 General Election.

To read what happens when the polling stations are closed at 6pm (Zgharta time) on Sunday, click on the Full Story tab. Click also here to see how Zgharta looks “decorated” with election posters and banners.

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Other than the current Members of Parliament, Sleiman Tony Frangieh and Mrs Nayla René Mouawad and Kaissar Mouawad, for some of our readers, in particular those overseas, the other candidates standing in the General Election for Zgharta Zawie are perhaps less well known. Therefore we have attempted to gather some biographical information about them. Information on the current Members of Parliament for Zgharta Zawie appear in the site’s Politics section.

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Next Sunday, 19th June, the electorate of Zgharta Zawie goes to the polls to vote in the final stage of the General Election as part of the North Lebanon 2nd Constituency. According to the Ministry of the Interior there are 67,056 registered voters for Zgharta Zawie, which covers an area of some 185 square metres. However such a figure includes those electors who, although are registered, live overseas and can only vote if they are present in Lebanon at the date of the election. In the 2000 General Election there were 62,477 registered voters of which 25,578 voted. It is difficult to ascertain whether such turnout was because registered voters were overseas or due to apathy or protest.

To see the breakdown of the electorate as to the towns and villages of Zgharta Zawie click on the Full Story tab.
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On Sunday, 12th June, the election list of former Minister Sleiman Tony Frangieh was officially announced. The list contains seventeen candidates for the North Lebanon 2nd Constituency which returns seventeen members of parliament of which, one is Alawite, four Greek Orthodox, six Maronite, and six Sunni. The constituency comprises of Batroun, Koura, Minieh, Tripoli and Zgharta Zawie.

Click on the Full Story tab to see the election list.The photograph is of former Minister Sleiman Tony Frangieh.
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It has been confirmed that Youssef Doueihi has withdrawn his candidacy to become a Member of Parliament for Zgharta Zawie in the forthcoming General Election.

The news agency United Press International (UPI) reported on Thursday that the Ministry of the Interior announced, after the deadline for candidates withdrawal, that they were 107 candidates for the 28 seats in the two North Lebanon constituencies. The estimated electorate for North Lebanon was given as 690,000.The map opposite shows the two constituences.

The election list of former Minister Sleiman Tony Frangieh has yet to be officially announced as far as we can ascertain at the time of this article ( 8 am Zgharta time). As soon as we are aware of the list we will publish it online.

News from Zgharta is that the town is awash with election posters and flyers.

NEWS UPDATE:Former Minister Sleiman Frangieh said on Friday, while being interviewed on Lebanese televison station, NEWTV, that his election list would be announced at 5pm on Sunday,12th June, in Tripoli.

Today, Sunday 5th June, the election list of Mrs Nayla René Mouawad was officially announced. The list contains seventeen candidates for the North Lebanon 2nd Constituency which returns seventeen members of parliament of which, one is Alawite, four Greek Orthodox, six Maronite, and six Sunni. The constituency comprises of Batroun, Koura, Minieh, Tripoli and Zgharta Zawie.

Click on the Full Story tab to see the election list.The photograph is of Mrs Nayla René Mouawad.
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The Lebanese French newspaper, L’Orient Le Jour, reports today that the Ministry for the Interior announced at midnight, 3rd June, the candidates who had paid the necessary deposit to stand at the General Election for North Lebanon.

The candidates for Zgharta Zawie were announced as (alphabetical order):-

Jawad Boulos
Estephane Doueihi
Youssef Doueihi
Samir Frangieh
Sleiman Frangieh
Salim Karam
Kaissar Mouawad
Nayla Mouawad

Candidates are required to lodge a deposit of 10 million LP (S 6,614 US) with the Lebanese Treasury. The deposit is refundable where either the candidate wins or receives 10% or more of the votes in the electoral district he/she stood for.

A declared candidate is not allowed to withdraw his/her candidature unless by a declaration certified by a notary public. The declaration must be lodged with Ministry of the Interior at least 10 days before the election date. The candidate is entitled in such a case to a refund of one half of the deposit.

As the electoral regions of Lebanon return a fixed number of Members of Parliament, which are allocated between particular districts in a constituency, lists of candidates are usually formed for a particular constituency. Such lists contain candidates of a particular grouping or movement for all districts and religious confession within the constituency. So if a constituency returns say 17 Members of Parliament a list will contain 17 candidates. A Maronite voter in one district would therefore have the choice to select 17 candidates some of whom would be of other religious confessions and districts. It is possible to be a candidate in one district without having a list of candidates for the other districts.

  To read the complete article and to view the election list for the 2000 General Election in relation to the North Lebanon 2^nd Constituency, which Zgharta Zawie forms part click on the Full Story tab.

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After this weekend, Sunday, 4th June, will see the deadline for candidates to officially declare their candidacy for the North Lebanon 2nd Constituency. North Lebanon is the last region to vote in the General Election on Sunday 19th June 2005.

In the General Election of 2000 there were nine candidates on the date of the election for Zgharta Zawie. To read more about the past candidates and the laws relating to candidates click on the Full Story tab.
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This is a further article explaining the electoral system of Lebanon. There are 14 constituencies in Lebanon, covering Beirut and the regions, comprising of -Beirut 3;Bekka 3; Mount Lebanon 4; North Lebanon 2 and South Lebanon 2.

The map shows the constituencies of North Lebanon. To read the complete article click on the Full Story tab.
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As part of a series of articles to explain the Lebanese electoral system this article explains who can stand as a candidate for the Lebanese Parliament and the formalities to be followed to do so.

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The photograph shows the debating chamber of the Lebanese Parliament.
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This article is in response to our overseas readers requests for us to explain the voting system in Lebanon. It is based on the current electoral law of 2000 and relates to the North Lebanon, 2nd Constituency, which consists of Batroum, Koura, Minieh, Tripoli and Zgharta Zawie.

To read more about the process of voting click on the Full Story tab.
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The Lebanese media reported on Monday that former Minister of the Interior and Member of Parliament, Sleiman Frangieh, announced that he would stand for re-election and that his General Election list for Zgharta Zawie will include Mr Estephane Doueihy and Mr Salim Karam, who are pictured left to right . The photograph was taken following the Mass for Pope John Paul II on 10th April 2005 at Saint John's Cathedral, Zgharta.

President Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese President, signed today the decree officially calling the General Election in Lebanon.

The decree means that Zgharta Zawie will vote on Sunday, 19th June 2005.

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On Wednesday, 27th April, the Lebanese Parliament extended its term to until 20th June 2005 (from 31st May 2005) with a view of holding the General Election over four Sundays - 29th May, 5th, 12th & 19th June 2005.

Some Lebanese media have reported which Lebanese region will vote on what day. For North Lebanon it is said to be Sunday 19th June , which if correct will mean that Zgharta Zawie will vote on that day. We stress that this is subject to official confirmation.

Last night on Lebanese TV it was announced that Mr Kaissar Mouawad, one of the three Zgharta Members of Parliament, had joined the parliamentary opposition grouping.

Recently it was announced that the list, for the forthcoming General Election in May 2005, headed by Minister Sleiman Frangieh, would include Mr Estephen Douaihy and Mr Salim Karam.

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