Municipal council (Arab Union)

In the Union of Arab Republics (UAR; informally the Arab Union), the multiple municipalities/local councils, which make up all land area of all twenty republics and certain incorporated areas of the organised territories of the Arab Union, are each governed by a municipal council (Arabic: مجلس البلدية majlis al-baladiyah; pl. مجالس البلدية majālis al-baladiyah), which depending on the form of municipal government is either a strictly legislative body or an executive–legislative authority.

In the mayor–council form of government, the more popular form (used by nearly two-thirds of municipalities), the citizens of the municipality directly elect a mayor, who appoints members to the municipal council, which acts as both a bylaw legislator and the mayor's executive (his cabinet). In the lesser used council–manager form, which represents almost two-fifths of municipalities, the municipal council is elected by the citizenry and simply acts as a legislature, passing all the municipality's bylaws: the municipal council appoints the municipal/city manager, who acts as the executive authority to enforce the municipal council's bylaws (as in the council-manager form, a municipal council has no executive power, and thus no power to enforce its own bylaws); usually, the mayor appoints what is called the "civic committee" (اللجنة المدنية al-lajnah al-madnīyah) as his cabinet.