Council (baladiya)

A council (Arabic: مجلس majlis) is an elected authority responsible for local government in the Arab Union. Each council administers a particular baladiya, the basic unit of local government in the country (variously translated as township, commune or municipality), providing utilities, social housing, waste collection, water, sanitation and other public services, maintaining local roads and infrastructure, public libraries, recreational facilities and parks, collecting property tax, and overseeing urban planning including zoning and regulation of property development. Two or more neighbouring councils can form a combined authority, to which they may jointly delegate any of these powers and duties; this is especially common in metropolitan areas where certain services, such as road maintenance, public transportation and sanitation, are delivered more efficiently on a regional basis—ie. simultaneously across several councils by a single provider.

Councils have both legislative and executive authority over a baladiya, the former of which is exercised directly by the council which deliberates upon and passes bylaws and official policy, and the latter indirectly via the civic supervisor, a professional manager who oversees the council's executive agencies on behalf of the council chairperson.

Councils are directly elected every three years by voting residents of the respective baladiya, with each council seat representing a nahiya (district). After a council election, the newly elected membership in turn elects from amongst itself a chairperson, who is responsible for moderating council sessions and nominating the civic manager.