Crisis-hit Lebanon holds parliamentary elections

dpa Beirut Lebanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that sees the opposition take on establishment politicians who they ...

dpa Beirut Lebanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that sees the opposition take on establishment politicians who they blame for the nation’s historic crisis.Some 4 million people are eligible to vote in the first election to be held since a deadly explosion ripped through the Beirut port in 2020, killing more than 193 people, wounding 6,000 and displacing some 300,000 more.The elections also follow mass protests that swept across Lebanon in 2019, due to widespread anger at deteriorating living conditions and a ruling elite accused of corruption.Streets in Beirut were blocked with traffic as voting got under way on Sunday.Voters formed long queues at polling centres. Some voiced hopes that the election would bring about change. Others said they had voted for the leaders who are more established.“The number of people we see in front of the polling stations is good. We hope the numbers will increase in the coming hours and people will vote in force for change,” said Mohammed Bleik, who supports the Beirut Change group.“It is a duty for every Lebanese to vote today to protect the identity of Lebanon. Weapons must be only in the hands of the Lebanese army,” Msaab al-Kibi, a Muslim Sunni voter said, referring to the weapons held by the Muslim Shiite pro-Iran Hezbollah movement, a controversial issue.  Due to a complicated electoral system, accurate predictions of the results are difficult.But the chances for major change are slim, according to Lebanese politics professor Imad Salamah. “The electoral system is tailored to preserve the political establishment” in the country, he said.Ali Sleim of Hezbollah, who oversees polling in the southern suburb of Beirut where the movement is based, was confident that party would win votes and criticized those calling for change.“They are talking of change. What change? They did not give a clear  plan. They are only calling for disarming Hezbollah and using it as their slogan,” Sleim said, referring to anti-Hezbollah groups.The vote is being held amid an economic crisis that is among the worst the world has seen since the mid-1800s, according to the World Bank.Shortages of food, medicines, water and fuel are now widespread and power cuts are frequent.Poverty has drastically increased during the past year and now affects some 74% of the population, according to a UN report. The Lebanese pound has lost 95% of its value.For many in Lebanon, the most important issue is the fight against corruption, according to a poll commissioned by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The survey also found that many Lebanese people want a “new and clean political class.” Many of the politicians standing for the opposition emerged from the 2019 protests.Voters are choosing from 718 candidates for a 128-member parliament.Verena al-Amil, 25, is the youngest person standing for election on Sunday. A Lebanese-German woman, she and other opposition candidates are demanding reform and change.