Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel said his party was compelled to enter a consensus-based alliance in Beirut's upcoming municipal elections to preserve Christian-Muslim parity, after Parliament failed to pass a law guaranteeing equal representation in the capital.

In remarks made to Al Jadeed TV, Gemayel said the Kataeb Party had worked within Parliament to push for legislation ensuring sectarian balance in Beirut, which would have allowed for genuine competition and the formation of political and developmental alliances.

“When parity is ensured, elections can proceed normally with political and developmental coalitions. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” he said. “So, in order to preserve parity and prevent division, we were forced to seek a coalition based on consensus, ensuring that all components of Beirut are properly represented.”

Gemayel stressed that maintaining parity hinged on full support for the list. 

“The guarantee for this arrangement is the complete commitment of everyone supporting the list to vote for it in its entirety,” he stressed.

Turning to Zahle, Gemayel rejected accusations of political maneuvering and emphasized that the municipal race in the Bekaa city is being fought along sovereign lines. He said Hezbollah and Amal had not backed any list and had instead granted their supporters freedom to vote as they pleased.

“The Shiite candidate on our list is the same one who was part of the joint list with the Lebanese Forces nine months ago,” he pointed out. “He is an independent with no ties to the Shiite Amal-Hezbollah duo and is currently serving on the municipal council alongside us, the Lebanese Forces, and Mayor Asaad Zgheib, whom we are backing again.”

Gemayel described the coalition in Zahle as comprising sovereign forces, including the National Liberal Party, the Zahle Gathering—which he called a symbol of Lebanese resistance to Syrian occupation—and MP Michel Daher.

“All these groups are sovereign-aligned," he said. "I don’t consider this a political battle; the outcome will be a sovereign victory."

Asked why no joint list had been formed with the Lebanese Forces, Gemayel said Kataeb had sought such an alliance from the beginning, but the Lebanese Forces initially preferred to ally with Myriam Skaff, before the two sides later split.

“By the time they parted ways, we had already formed and committed to an alliance with Asaad Zgheib,” he said. “We had a solid list and worked hard to coordinate with the Lebanese Forces, but the fault wasn’t on our end, and they know that well. After finalizing our list and agreeing on the names, it became impossible to reach another agreement in Zahle.”