Lebanon holds first parliamentary elections in almost a decade
Polling stations opened and elections kicked off in Lebanon on Sunday, the first parliamentary elections in the country in nine years.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Polling stations have opened and elections have kicked off in Lebanon on Sunday, the first parliamentary elections in the country in almost ten years.
The election sees 583 candidates competing for 128 seats in Lebanon’s Parliament, with 77 lists registered across 15 districts in the country.
The number of female candidates has largely increased compared to the previous elections, with 86 women running for office.
There are some 6,800 polling stations across Lebanon. Up to 3.8 million people have registered to vote in the country, with over 700,000 voters casting their ballots for the first time.
Polling stations will remain open until 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT), according to the electoral commission.
Local television channels showed people lining up at polling stations across the tiny Mediterranean state to cast their votes.
“Today, I will choose new faces,” Abu Sami, 40, a civil servant, told Reuters, saying he was tired of the established politicians.
Parliamentary seats are evenly divided between Christians and Muslims and further subdivided among the sects of those religions.
The highest positions in the country are also split among the different components. Lebanon’s President must always be a Maronite Christian, while the Prime Ministership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim, and the Parliamentary Speaker must be Shia.
Editing by Nadia Riva