On January 10, 1971, a by-poll was held to elect a member of parliament from one of the Sunni Muslim seats from Chouf District in the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies.[1][2] The constituency was a very sensitive area, as it was the home to arch-rivals Kamal Jumblatt and Camille Chamoun. The election was described by contemporary observers as the 'most fiery Lebanon had ever witnessed in a by-election'.[3] There was a massive presence of security forces deployed in the constituency during the campaign and on the voting day in particular.[3]

The election was called following the death of the incumbent Progressive Socialist Party parliamentarian Anwar al-Khatib in November 1970. Al-Khatib had been elected from Chouf in 1968.[1][2][3][4]

Throughout the campaign there were unsuccessful efforts to find a compromise candidate, in order to avoid further sectarian conflict. The Prime Minister Saeb Salam was the most prominent figure in this drive for a middle ground. Salam also met with the Fatah leader Muhammad Yusuf an-Najjar to discuss reports of involvement of Palestinian fedayeen in the election campaign, claims that an-Najjar rebutted.[3]

In the end the fight over the seat stood between two candidates; Zahir al-Khatib (son of Anwar al-Khatib) and Hassan al-Qa'qur.[1][2] Al-Khatib of the Progressive Socialist Party belonged to the camp Kamal Jumblatt. His candidature was also supported by Nahj, the Communist Party and other leftists.[1][3] Al-Qa'qur, who had been defeated by the late al-Khatib in the 1968 election, was supported by an alliance consisting of ex-president Camille Chamoun's National Liberal Party, the Kataeb Party, Constitutionalists, former Nahjists and others.[1][3][4]

Al-Khatib won the seat, obtaining 22,065 votes. Al-Qa'qur obtained 18,148 votes. The election reaffirmed Jumblatt's dominance over politics in the Chouf District.[1] In the end, no violent incidents were reported.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Orient, Vol. 11–14. Deutsches Orient-Institut, 1970[?]. p. 23
  2. 1 2 3 ARR: Arab Report and Record. Economic Features, Limited, 1971. p. 33
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Middle East Record, Vol. 5. Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah, Ḥevrah ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Merkaz le-meḥḳar ʻal shem Reʼuven Shiloaḥ. Israel Oriental Society, Reuven Shiloah Research Center, 1977. p. 949
  4. 1 2 Zuwiyya, Jalal. The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968. Leiden: Brill, 1972. p. 70-72
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