LEBANON: General election held for first time in nine years

Voting came to a close in Lebanon in the country’s first parliamentary election in nearly a decade after perpetual delays stymied the country’s ability to resolve its most pressing issues. Sunday’s vote saw 583 candidates – including a record number of 86 women – compete for 128 seats in parliament – half of which will […]

Voting came to a close in Lebanon in the country’s first parliamentary election in nearly a decade after perpetual delays stymied the country’s ability to resolve its most pressing issues.

Sunday’s vote saw 583 candidates – including a record number of 86 women – compete for 128 seats in parliament – half of which will be allocated to candidates spread across different Christian areas and the other half allocated to Muslim-dominated regions.

A new electoral law redrew the country into 15 electoral districts, further entrenching Lebanon’s foundational sectarian makeup, and introduced proportional representation for the first time. 

Some 3.8 million Lebanese were registered and about 800,000 were able to cast ballots for the first time. About 6,800 polling stations opened across the country under the close watch of security forces.

Voting ended at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT). Early official reports indicated low voter turnout in most of the country’s districts with some estimates at about 30 percent.