Lebanese Vote in High-Stakes Parliamentary Election
Tamara Qiblawi
16 أيار 2022 00:00
Tamara Qiblawi wrote this article in CNN:
Lebanese citizens voted Sunday in a high-stakes parliamentary election, the first since a 2019 popular uprising demanded the downfall of the ruling elite, blaming traditional parties for corruption and mismanagement.
Several new political groups sprung out of the protest movement and are competing in Sunday's race, coming head to head with establishment parties.
Political observers view the election as highly competitive and unpredictable. Earlier this year, three-time prime minister Saad Hariri -- the leader of the country's largest Sunni Muslim parliamentary bloc -- quit politics, leaving the Sunni vote up for grabs.
Hariri urged people in his constituencies to boycott the race. But voters in Beirut's second electoral districts -- one of Hariri's main strongholds -- showed up at the polls in relatively large numbers, with many telling CNN they voted for "change."
Long lines snaked out one of the voting stations in Beirut's Tareek el Jdeedeh neighborhood, where voter turnout is typically one of the lowest in the country, on Sunday morning.
Lebanese citizens voted Sunday in a high-stakes parliamentary election, the first since a 2019 popular uprising demanded the downfall of the ruling elite, blaming traditional parties for corruption and mismanagement.
Several new political groups sprung out of the protest movement and are competing in Sunday's race, coming head to head with establishment parties.
Political observers view the election as highly competitive and unpredictable. Earlier this year, three-time prime minister Saad Hariri -- the leader of the country's largest Sunni Muslim parliamentary bloc -- quit politics, leaving the Sunni vote up for grabs.
Hariri urged people in his constituencies to boycott the race. But voters in Beirut's second electoral districts -- one of Hariri's main strongholds -- showed up at the polls in relatively large numbers, with many telling CNN they voted for "change."
Long lines snaked out one of the voting stations in Beirut's Tareek el Jdeedeh neighborhood, where voter turnout is typically one of the lowest in the country, on Sunday morning.