Beirut’s Mayor, Jamal Itani, said Friday that he has submitted his resignation to caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi and that he expects his successor to be elected next week.
Itani told An Nahar newspaper that he resigned “for health reasons” and that he was “unable to continue carrying out his tasks with the same energy.”
He indicated that Mawlawi is expected to summon the Municipal Council next week to elect his successor.
It is likely that Abdallah Darwish, a member of the Council, would be elected as the next mayor of Beirut.
Born in 1960 in Beirut, Jamal Itani is a Lebanese engineer, entrepreneur, and politician. He was elected as Mayor of Beirut in 2016 and serves as the President of the Committee of the Lebanese Mayors.
His political career began when he was appointed by former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri to chair the Council for Development and Reconstruction of Lebanon. He assumed this post from 2001 to 2005.
Like other official institutions, the municipality has been grappling with the economic crisis due to shortages of funds and salaries, in addition to internal differences influenced by political divisions that has obstructed its performance.
A power struggle has also arisen between the mayor and the governor, adding to the complexities of the situation.
During his tenure, Itani faced great challenges, including the explosion of Beirut port and disputes within the municipal council over projects in the capital and implicit demands for having two municipal councils for the eastern and western parts of Beirut.
