Noticias

Con apenas 4 millones de habitantes, el país tiene un enrevesado sistema electoral designado para mantener la paz civil entre suníes, chiíes, cristianos y drusos, enfrentados entre ellos en numerosas ocasiones desde la independencia en 1943.

Líbano celebrará este domingo sus primeras elecciones legislativas después de nueve años y bajo el amparo de una compleja ley electoral que permite la irrupción en los comicios de nuevos partidos ciudadanos y candidatos independientes frente a la inamovible vieja guardia de la política libanesa.

Few countries are as vulnerable to the Middle East's mayhem as Lebanon, which has taken in a million refugees from the catastrophic war in neighboring Syria, seen the Iran-backed Hizbullah party embroiled in that war and watched Saudi Arabia try to oust its prime minister.

Lebanon’s government will convene in a final meeting before the country launches its general elections on Sunday, to discuss some files described as “non controversial” amid expectations it is going to be “calm and short”, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

The Cabinet, convening at Baabda Palace, will discuss “two reports presented by the ministers of defence and interior, highlighting the security measures ahead of the elections and the security and military apparatuses tasked with preserving a safe and smooth electoral process,” sources told the daily.

El Líbano acude a las urnas el próximo domingo para renovar el Parlamento por primera vez desde 2009, al amparo de una nueva ley electoral de efectos inciertos, en un país frágil por sus equilibrios confesionales y por las influencias de las potencias regionales.

Las nuevas reglas electorales, aprobadas en 2017 tras arduas negociaciones, establecen un sistema proporcional, pero mantienen la división del electorado en función de su religión, algo que, en opinión de algunos observadores, garantiza que las tradicionales familias políticas libanesas mantengan el poder.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said in a press conference Monday that the turnout rate for Lebanese expats voting reached 59%, stressing that it “reflects the enthusiasm of Lebanese.”

In a press conference he held at the foreign ministry concluding the country’s expats voting, Bassil said: “Lebanese expat voting has reflected the enthusiasm and interest of Lebanese,” to practice their national right, “although some media outlets were hinting otherwise.”

“Official turnout statistics have shown 59% of people registered have cast their votes,” he said.

Expatriates kicked off Lebanon's parliamentary polls by voting abroad on Friday, a first for the small country's huge diaspora.

The 12,611 Lebanese voters registered in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt will be the first to cast ballots for the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament.

The overall voter turnout was at 48.11% at 5:25 pm Beirut time according to the National News Agency.

Voters elsewhere in the world will vote on Sunday, a week before the May 6 polling in Lebanon, which has not renewed its parliament since 2009.

Preparations for Lebanese emigrants voting from abroad are underway as President Michel Aoun is set to deliver a statement Wednesday evening urging Lebanese expats for massive participation in the country’s general elections, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

Lebanon’s parliamentary elections will be held on May 6, but Lebanese expats will be voting from April 27 to 29.

Aoun will address Lebanese expats through media outlets and will emphasize the importance of participation in the electoral process under the new electoral law, said the daily.

The Electoral Supervisory Committee acknowledged on Monday that the powers entrusted to it do not include powers over candidates from the political class.

“The authority given to the electoral supervisory committee do not include powers over political candidates,” head of the committee, ex-Judge Nadim Abdul Malak told reporters during a press conference.