Jad Tabet, a candidate supported by Beirut Madinati (Beirut is My City) and the Kataeb Party was elected as the new head of the Beirut Order of Engineers on Saturday.
Tabet who heads Naqabati's (My Syndicate) list, garnered 4,079 votes, just 21 more than his opponent Paul Najem, a candidate running on behalf of the Free Patriotic Movement.
Najem was backed by several political parties who united to support him, including the Lebanese Forces (whose candidate withdrew in his favor), Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Future Movement.
Even though Tabet won the top seat, the candidates running with Najem managed to win all the seats on the council, according to The Daily Star.
Following the election, Najem's supporters demanded a recount. He however, rejected their calls and congratulated Tabet for his win.
As soon as news of Tabet's victory came out, people took to Twitter to share their thoughts via the #نقابتي and #Naqabati hashtags.
Many celebrated
21 votes made all the difference
"21 votes, this is the most important lesson we learned yesterday, that every single citizen can speak up against corruption and every single vote has an impact."
Laying ground for change
While a few had issues with the win
"It's OK to say that Jad Tabet's win is a sign of possible change, but before you can say that those who ran against him are symbols of corruption, you need to question those who supported him."