Since the beginning of March, candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections have started to show up from the same political parties as well as independents.
The candidates’ announcements come with the nearing of the deadline for the candidates to register, being March 8th, and for the public to start voting as of May 6th, in the diaspora.
Voting will start with the Lebanese expats to allow time to process the votes. They are scheduled to vote on May 6th, or May 8th depending on the weekend day where the polling takes place.
Employees assigned to the electoral process in Lebanon will vote on May 12th and the people on May 15th.
The upcoming elections will determine the ministers of the parliament and also the next government, president, and prime minister in a universal suffrage vote system.
The candidates will run for the 128 seats for a 4-year mandate.
The Lebanese people by the majority are hoping that the coming elections will be different with new and capable representatives that could bring them and the country out of the ongoing dark times.
However, and unsurprisingly, some of the traditional political figures from the several ruling parties intend to secure their seats and stay in power. They are running again in this selection, including the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, who has been in his position since 1992.
The Future Movement of former PM Saad Hariri appears so far to abide by his previous declaration of withdrawing from the political scene and boycotting the elections.
There have been concerns that some political parties might try to postpone the elections that could see them lose some power in the legislature.
However, the Lebanese government has already approved $18 million to hold the elections despite the severe economic crisis. It has also invited the European Union to send election observers, which will be headed by György Hölvényi as Chief Observer of the Mission.
For more details on voting days, visit here.
