Parliament Voting for Lebanese Expats Ends
The second round of Lebanese expats voting has ended on Monday at 8:00 Beirut time with the last ballot box closed in Los Angeles the United States, the National News Agency reported on Monday.
NNA added that the voter turnout in each ballot box will emerge respectively according to the states in South and North Americas.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the voter turnout until now has shown that an overall of 45,765 Lebanese expats have participated in the voting, that is %55.14 of registered voters.
Lebanese expatriates began voting Sunday in the first parliamentary elections held by the tiny Arab country in nine years.
The current legislature has extended its term several times, citing security threats linked to the war in neighboring Syria. Lebanon's political system distributes power among the country's different religious communities, and the main parties are led by political dynasties that fought one another during the 1975-1990 civil war.
Sunday's vote in 33 countries comes two days after thousands of Lebanese voted in six Arab countries.
The vote marks the first time that Lebanese are allowed to vote abroad. Millions of Lebanese live abroad, but Lebanon's state-run news agency says the number of registered voters is 82,970. The voting inside Lebanon will be held next Sunday.
Australia has the largest number of registered voters, with about 12,000, followed by Canada with 11,438 and the United States with about 10,000.
In Brazil, home to hundreds of thousands of citizens of Lebanese descent, many were casting their ballots in Latin America's most populous nation.
This year's vote is according to a new election law that is based on proportional representation, implemented for the first time since Lebanon's independence in 1943. Voters will choose one list of allied candidates, as well as a preferred candidate from among them.
Lebanon's 128-member parliament is equally divided between Muslims and Christians.
The house's term was supposed to expire in 2013, but lawmakers have approved several extensions since then.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
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