The parliamentary elections in Western Bekaa have concluded, and the people have categorized the political forces based on results that resemble a "mosaic," which sets the stage for the political roles. What was unexpected for this "system" was the victory of the October 17 Forces list, driven by fears that its result might herald "the change ball" in upcoming elections, especially after the grassroots felt the thrill of defeating one of the prominent figures of the political system, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Elias Al-Ferzli, who was a candidate for President Nabih Berri.
Perhaps the most significant factor that contributed to this outcome was the dispersion of the "Future Movement" base, which divided its machinery between two lists: one for MP Mohammad Qarawi managed by Dr. Ahmad Rabah at the behest of former Minister Jamal Jarrah, and the second for the "Sahlna wal Jabal" list, specifically for Youssef Youssef, managed by the President of the Union of Municipalities of the Plain, Mohammad Al-Majdoub. In light of these divisions, the authority attempts to mend the remnants of its defeat through two avenues in preparation for the upcoming phase: the first being the determination of the reference based on the number of votes received by candidates, with the highest number going to Hajj Qablan Qablan (10,143 votes), as he competed with his ally in the same list, Hassan Mourad (9,157 votes).
The second avenue is the representation of the "Free Patriotic Movement" for the first time in Western Bekaa through their candidate, Charbel Maroun, referred to as the candidate of the "darkness" by local residents. These two paths place the ruling parties before a challenging developmental task in a region thirsty for all types of projects. This brings MP Wael Abou Faour into the competitive circle for reference in Western Bekaa and Rashaya. Despite his noticeable decline in the Druze street, he retained the top position on the list (9,202 votes) and garnered over 2,000 votes from the Sunni street.
With these results, Qablan and Abou Faour are trying to establish the lines of reference for Western Bekaa and the electoral path for the upcoming 2026 session after the collapse of the "Sunni electoral bloc," which is considered the largest among all blocs, leading to a distribution among several names while determining the weights of other powers and parties. The "Lebanese Forces," in a tactical sense, have managed to assert their presence and rally their party base, defining their electoral capacity with (4,761 votes) received by their candidate Danny Khater, despite criticisms regarding the formation of a losing list outside the alliance with the "Progressive Socialist Party," MP Mohammad Qarawi, and the Islamic group. Their list formation followed Qarawi's refusal to share a list with any candidate from the "Forces" after Abou Faour preferred to ally with Qarawi, believing it would secure a larger number of votes, which did not materialize, leading to the success of the "Free Patriotic Movement" candidate Charbel Maroun (3,576 votes), including 1,200 votes given by "the party" from the Resistance brigades, favoring his support over that of Al-Ferzli, who is departing from the "Strong Lebanon" bloc.
On the other hand, MP Mohammad Qarawi's loss of his seat to "Sahlna wal Jabal" candidate Youssef Youssef can be attributed to two reasons: first, his candidacy under President Fouad Siniora in Western Bekaa led to a reluctance from Future supporters to vote for him; and second, the fragmentation of his electoral machinery, managed by Dr. Ahmad Rabah, one of the prominent leaders of the "Future Movement," based on directions from former Minister Jamal Jarrah, which provoked the Sunni street and negatively impacted Qarawi's votes, bringing him to (4,811 votes) as a "Forces" candidate, contrary to expectations of (8,500 votes).
As for the Islamic group's maneuvers, they did not achieve their anticipated numbers considering their leadership estimated their votes at four to five thousand, while results indicated 2,825 votes for their candidate Ali Abou Yasin, with the Future Movement suspending political activities. In contrast, indications suggest that should the movement operate politically and electorally, the group may not exceed (1,500 votes).
In this scenario, the victory of Dr. Ghassan Skaff (776 votes) for the Orthodox seat previously held by Al-Ferzli draws the attention of the change advocates to see whether he will align with the October 17 parliamentary forces or engage in an independent parliamentary bloc, especially since he was among the prominent candidates on the change lists. However, he chose to run on the Independent National Decision list, asserting he ran as an independent and will remain so.
Amidst this situation in a region considered a "popular reservoir" for the "Future Movement," a state of dispersion and imbalance emerged in taking a stance that aligns with the grassroots while preventing division between Qarawi and Youssef, leading to silence and boycott without noise. A Future source confirmed to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that after the elections, the discourse has changed. "Those who committed not to run are considered hawks of the 'Future'; however, those who ran and won are no longer committed members, but if they want to return to the movement, they must comply with the party decisions, and otherwise, they remain friends."
The same source also confirmed that the suspension of political activities does not extend to organizational and party work within the movement, stating, "The focus in the coming days will be on forming a political opposition plan," thus marking a separation from power. From this standpoint, attention is being drawn towards establishing organizational and party workshops to define its functions while laying the groundwork for awareness and educational campaigns to rejuvenate the movements among the party's grassroots, focusing on the people's concerns.
— Osama Al-Qadri - Nidaa Al-Watan
