A photo is being circulated of a Lebanese ballot box at Portland Airport in the US, supposedly containing diaspora votes.
The speculations are that the ballot box ended up there due to a mix-up, considering that there is a town called Lebanon in the state of Oregon in the United States.
However, the picture was first uploaded on Reddit by the user u/Damour on May 7, which is a day before the Lebanese diaspora elections kicked off in North America, including the United States.
Comments by many, including Adham Hassanieh on Twitter, expressed that the ballot box most likely came from a country in which the first round of the voting took place on Friday, which means any of the Arab countries or Iran where the diaspora voted on May 6th.
“People drove for hours to vote, but it is normal to be reckless with their votes,” he commented, implying the organizers.
As of the time of writing, there has been no statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding that journeying ballot box.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, had stressed earlier that there should not be any concerns regarding the tampering of the ballots, or even them getting lost.
He explained that the ballot boxes contain GPS tracking devices and are sealed with red wax. They are also closely monitored by cameras and guarded by representatives from different groups in their respective embassies.
The process, as stated. is closely monitored, however, numerous violations emerged during the second round on Sunday, as reported by LADE’s observers in various diaspora polling stations. The report indicated cases of pressure and breaches during the electoral process.
The elections will culminate on May 15th in Lebanon where the majority of the Lebanese in the country will cast their votes, despite some boycotting stances and the growing political tension in what has materialized as one of the fiercest electoral races in Lebanon’s history.
Related: The Overall Lebanese Diaspora Voter Turnout Was Reportedly About 60%, Here Are The Details
