Municipal governance forms the first link between citizens and the state. In Lebanon, municipalities are key to delivering services like infrastructure maintenance, waste management, urban planning, and local development. With municipal elections scheduled to begin in early May 2025 after years of delay, attention is turning to how local governments function and the reforms needed to enhance their role. Ahead of municipal elections, a closer look at how municipal governance works (and how it doesn’t) and what voters should expect from their municipalities can give a step up to a more participatory relationship between municipal leaders and citizens.   

Municipal governance in Lebanon dates back to the Ottoman Empire but expanded significantly after independence in 1943. The number of municipalities in Lebanon has increased significantly over the last few decades—from just over 700 in the late 1990s to more than 1,000 today—often due to political considerations rather than clear administrative planning. However, many were established to satisfy political demands rather than administrative needs, resulting in significant disparities in capabilities. Many of the municipalities today remain inactive or under-resourced. 

Municipal governance is structured by Decree-Law No. 118 of 1977, which grants municipalities administrative and financial autonomy as independent legal entities. Municipalities are responsible for sanitation, public health, infrastructure, zoning, and licensing local construction. Councils are elected every six years and composed of 9 to 24 members depending on the locality’s population size. Despite this legal framework, municipalities are subject to oversight from the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, which must approve budgets, hiring, and major projects. This supervisory role often limits the autonomy municipalities are meant to enjoy. 

Municipal elections in Lebanon use a winner-takes-all majoritarian list system, in which the list receiving the highest votes gains full control of the council seats. While there are no formal sectarian quotas at the local level, outcomes typically reflect Lebanon’s confessional political structure. Municipalities generate revenue from local taxes and fees and receive transfers from the Independent Municipal Fund (IMF). In terms of service provision, municipalities are tasked with waste management, road maintenance, zoning, and basic urban development. Yet, according to a 2022 UNDP and UN-Habitat report on municipalities as enablers of local economic development, many municipalities lack sufficient human resources and technical expertise, limiting their ability to meet these obligations effectively. 

Decentralize and unionize: the keys to success? 

The issue of administrative centralization is one that comes up whenever there is talk about how to improve municipal governance. Although municipalities possess theoretical autonomy, the Ministry of Interior retains extensive authority over key decisions, influencing local governance dynamics. Centralization also affects responsiveness to local needs. Because municipalities must seek approval for most spending and development initiatives, delays often arise, discouraging proactive policymaking at the local level. The absence of financial predictability also inhibits strategic planning, which is likely to push municipalities to prioritize short-term fixes over more long-term aims, like, for example, projects in line with sustainable development goals.  

Municipal elections, initially scheduled for 2022, were delayed due to financial and logistical issues. In April 2024, Parliament extended municipal mandates to May 2025 due to the steadily escalating war between Hezbollah and Israel. Efforts to promote decentralization include proposals to transfer more tax authority to municipalities, to allow them to create local revenue streams, and to establish administrative courts to manage disputes at the local level. Decentralization is seen not only as a way to strengthen service delivery but also as a mechanism to reduce clientelism by anchoring governance closer to citizens.

Proposals for electoral reform, including proportional representation and gender quotas, seek to enhance representativeness and correct imbalances, particularly given that, according to a UNDP report, “Women in Municipal Elections 2016 – Key Results”, women constituted only 5 percent of elected municipal officials in the 2016 cycle despite comprising over half the electorate. 

Municipalities across Lebanon differ markedly in their administrative capacity, financial resources, and political leverage. Larger municipalities, such as Beirut and Tripoli, benefit from more substantial tax bases and donor engagement, allowing them to support broader service delivery functions. In contrast, smaller and rural municipalities often operate with limited staff, modest budgets, and basic infrastructure. In some cases, municipalities form municipal unions, athadat el baladiyet in Arabic, to share resources, coordinate service delivery, and undertake projects that would be unfeasible individually. Successful unions have demonstrated that pooling technical expertise, financial resources, and planning capacity can dramatically improve performance. For example, according to the 2022 UNDP – UN-Habitat report, waste management and road rehabilitation projects have been more effectively implemented by unions than by individual municipalities acting alone. Political dynamics also shape municipal performance. Nevertheless, strong local leadership, active civil society engagement, and transparent governance practices often enable municipalities to improve services regardless of their financial position. 

What to expect now 

The municipal elections scheduled for May 2025 will be staggered by region, beginning with Mount Lebanon on May 4 and concluding with South Lebanon and Nabatiyeh on May 25. After nearly nine years without local elections, the upcoming cycle presents an opportunity to renew democratic practices at the municipal level. Municipal elections also offer a chance to test new political dynamics and strengthen the relationship between citizens and local institutions. Civil society organizations highlight the importance of holding timely, fair, and inclusive elections as a step toward reinforcing local democratic governance and institutional credibility. Beyond the immediate electoral exercise, successful elections could pave the way for broader governance reforms. Transparent, competitive municipal elections can encourage local governments to become more accountable, citizen-responsive, and development-oriented in the medium term. 

Municipalities play a central role in Lebanon’s governance landscape, providing services closest to citizens and fostering local development. Strengthening their performance requires a combination of timely elections, administrative reforms, and genuine decentralization. The 2025 municipal elections, supported by independent election observation, present an opportunity to revitalize local governance structures and reinforce public confidence in democratic processes. Over the longer term, ensuring municipalities have both the autonomy and the capacity to fulfill their mandates will be essential for building a more resilient, inclusive, and effective model of governance across Lebanon.