The elections for the local mufti were held in the regions of Tripoli, Akkar, Zahle, Rashaya, Baalbek-Hermel, and Hasbaya Marjeyoun, based on the decision of the Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abd al-Latif Derian, according to a statement issued by the media office of Dar Al-Fatwa in the Lebanese.

The statement included names of the newly elected muftis: Sheikh Muhammad Tariq, the imam of the Mufti of Tripoli, with 66.40 percent, Sheikh Zaid Muhammad Bakkar Zakaria, Mufti of Akkar, with 45.56 percent, Sheikh Ali Al-Ghazawi, Mufti of Zahle, with 56.60 percent, Sheikh Wafiq Hijazi, the Mufti of Rashaya, with a percentage of 85.70 percent, Sheikh Ayman Al-Rifai, Mufti of Baalbek-Hermel, by 65 percent, Sheikh Hassan Daly, Mufti of Hasbaya, Marjeyoun, by 80.95 percent.

Darian congratulated the muftis who won the elections, wishing them success in their religious and national journey and serving the Muslims and the Lebanese, asking God to grant them success in their noble Islamic missions.

“This electoral entitlement is an Islamic and patriotic duty that was achieved after long years of absence of such elections,” the Mufti said.

He added: “What happened today in terms of the elections for the muftis is a clear message to all the political forces in Lebanon to hasten to elect a president of the republic who brings together the Lebanese and adheres to the constitution and the national charter, especially the document of national reconciliation known as the Taef Accord, which brought Lebanon out of the tunnel of conflicts to the vastness of the homeland.”

“We call on our brothers and sons, on the occasion of the national and religious holidays that overlook Lebanon, to adhere to national unity and transcend self-interests, so that Lebanon will return to all its children as a free and independent Arab master, an oasis of dialogue, diversity and a national culture aimed at building a state of institutions and law,” the mufti concluded.