Mawlawi urges Lebanese to vote for a 'better tomorrow'
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Friday that the expats parliamentary elections are going smoothly and no problems nor major violations have been detected so far.
According to Mawlawi, the turnout abroad will be heavy this year as the numbers of those who have registered their names to vote have surpassed the numbers of those who registered in the 2018 elections.
Media reports confirmed that the turnout is heavy in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In Qatar, 1254 out of 7344 registered had already voted before Friday noon.
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections said it hasn't noted any violations so far.
"This is heartwarming," Mawlawi said, as he optimistically urged all Lebanese in Lebanon and abroad to vote "for a better tomorrow."
Expatriates began voting at 7:00 am Beirut time on Friday in nine Arab countries and in Iran, while the rest will vote in 48 other countries on Sunday.
It is the second time in the country's history that citizens residing abroad are able to vote for their 128 representatives, in elections set to be held at home on May 15.
While opposition figures have pinned their hopes on the diaspora, experts said the elections were expected to uphold the status quo, despite years of economic meltdown.
It is impossible under current law, including the Constitution, to reform Lebanon's Christian-favoring electoral regime (Article 24 which reserves half of parliament to Christians), because other parts of the Constitution require a two-thirds approval in parliament for major changes. Hizbullah made a farcical reference to this last month, claiming that reform was always possible under the law. I don't know if the comedy was intentional.