Battle for Nazareth mayor a loser for Christian-Muslim relations
Ever since local elections in Nazareth three months ago, a fierce legal battle has been taking place between the Muslim candidate and his friend, the incumbent Christian mayor, over the latter's seat.
Though three months have passed since Nazareth's mayoral elections, controversy still reigns regarding the identity of the winner. To this very day, it is not clear who is and who will be the mayor. Residents of the city have never encountered such a situation. On the Oct. 22 election day, Ramez Jaraisi still served as the city’s long-standing mayor. A few days later, after the ballots were counted, Ali Salam was declared the winner — a man who had served as Jaraisi’s deputy for 15 years.
Two weeks later Salam went to the municipal building, entered the familiar chambers and took over the mayor’s chair that his colleague had vacated. However, the defeated mayor did not give up so easily. According to the official count, only 22 ballots separated Jaraisi from Salam, the victor. If 12 votes had gone the other way, Jaraisi would have continued on for his fifth term, another five years.
