Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar held a press conference on Monday to discuss the results of the first round of municipal elections in Mount Lebanon and outline plans for future improvements to the election process.

Al-Hajjar began by expressing gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of the elections, acknowledging the significant efforts made by the ministry's staff at all levels.

“I directly supervised the vote counting and the issuance of results in coordination with all concerned parties,” al-Hajjar said. "The results are generated by the registration committees, handed over to the district commissioner and the governor, and I personally instructed them to send the results to the Ministry of Interior so I can review them to ensure accuracy and confirm there are no errors."

To further enhance transparency, al-Hajjar revealed that a new computer program was developed to verify the results before they are officially published on the Ministry of Interior's website.

In addition, al-Hajjar stated that the Ministry of Interior would conduct a thorough review of the election day to address any logistical challenges or issues that arose. He emphasized that the review would focus on identifying and preventing similar problems in upcoming election days in other governorates.

“We will carefully examine the process and ensure that any gaps or logistical problems encountered are avoided in the upcoming elections,” he added.

Despite initial skepticism about the feasibility of holding the elections on schedule, al-Hajjar affirmed that the decision to proceed as planned proved to be the right one.

“We made the final decision to hold the elections on time, despite doubts, and this success is the result of the efforts of the state, its employees, the media, and the citizens' awareness, love for their country, and commitment to revitalizing developmental work in their towns,” he concluded.