Lebanese people will head to the polls tomorrow to elect a new parliament

Lebanese people will head to the polls tomorrow to elect a new parliament for the first time in nine years after several postponements over security concerns.

Polling stations across Lebanon will open at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Sunday and close at 7:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).

More than 3.6 million eligible voters will choose among 583 candidates competing for 128 parliamentary seats, which are equally divided among Muslims and Christians.

The elections will be held under a new electoral law passed in June 2017 after years of wrangling.

The new system reduced the number of voting districts from 26 to 15. It also replaced the current plurality system with a system of proportional representation, increasing the sectarian diversity of lawmakers within each district.

Voters will practically select one list of allied candidates as well as one favourite

A polling station official explains the voting procedure to a Lebanese national preparing to cast her ballot in the parliamentary elections, at the Lebanese School in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, April 29, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

candidate from the list as their preferential vote.

The percentage of votes a list receives will determine the number of its representatives in each electoral district. The Lawmakers will in turn be elected by the number of preferential votes they receive.

Lebanese citizens living abroad took part in the elections late last month. Official figures put the total number of registered Lebanese expatriate voters at 82,965 worldwide.

The last time Lebanese citizens elected a new legislature was in 2009. Since then, members of the parliament postponed the elections in 2013, 2014 and 2017, citing concerns over the spillover effects from the Syria crisis.

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