Lebanon parliamentary election marred by disputes, low turnout
Poll observers subjected to pressure, threats and exclusion amid hope for end to economic crisis
The Lebanese public headed to polling booths on Sunday to elect a new parliament against the backdrop of an economic meltdown that is transforming the country.
The armed forces were deployed on roads leading to polling stations.
The new parliament will also elect a new head of state after President Michel Aoun’s six-year term expires at the end of October.
Arab and foreign observers moved between polling stations to oversee the electoral process but refused to make any declarations, noting that their observations will be included in a report.
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections registered dozens of violations, such as delegates being placed under “pressure and harassment,” and threats of expulsion.
The association criticized “the deputy registrars’ failure to carry out their tasks, which results in the cancellation of votes.”
The Supervisory Commission for Elections noted “hundreds of irregularities resulting from breaches of electoral silence.”
Irregularities were also noted by the Association for Democratic Elections. It accused “candidates and politicians, including President Michel Aoun,” of breaches.
Aoun and his wife cast their votes in his hometown in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
He urged voters to avoid being “impartial in a matter as important as choosing the ruling system.” Results are expected on Monday. Politicians and clergymen, some accompanied by their children, cast their votes in front of the cameras in casual clothing.
Tensions reached a peak on Lebanon’s long electoral day in the final hours before polls closed, especially in areas with a strong Hezbollah presence.
The town of Fneidiq in Akkar witnessed several violent clashes and confrontations, prompting calls for the rapid intervention of the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces.
Despite the severe polarization that preceded the elections, the turnout was about 25.6 percent by 3 p.m. across Lebanon, according to figures from the Ministry of Interior.
The highest turnout was recorded in Jbeil–Kesserwan, where it reached 42 percent.
However, it did not exceed 22 percent in the Beirut II district, 17 percent in the Beirut I district and 12 percent in Tripoli.
Voters are electing 128 new parliamentary deputies. In some competitive regions, voters were divided due to many competing lists, particularly in Beirut and the north.
The turnout was high in places where party electoral machines were active and effective.
Parties and some electoral institutions invited a large portion of the public to cast early votes, but asked others to vote in the afternoon before the sealing of ballot
boxes at 7 p.m., after studying voters’ orientations during the day.
These tactical practices also included offering money to voters.
An officer in one of the electoral machines of one of the lists of change in Beirut told Arab News that “Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects (Al-Ahbash) are more organized than others.”