The participation rate was 41 %, Sunday at 11 p.m. In the Shiite, Christian and Sunni districts of Beirut, the voters are won by weariness or by indifference.
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In front of the polling stations in the Haret Hreik district, only the Hezbollah yellow flags float on this legislative election day in Lebanon, Sunday, May 15. In his stronghold of the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Shiite armed movement reigns supreme.
The presence in the number of delegates of the “Party of God”, however, did not discourage Riad and his family from coming to vote “for change”. “We want to give a chance to the lists that are different,” says the 67 -year -old Shiite businessman, who was born in the neighborhood but now lives between Egypt and France. “You need young people and educated people who want to develop public services,” abounds his wife, Lina.
Both voted for the opposition list “Baabda, change”, and in particular for the lawyer Wassef Haraké. They have followed the journey of the political activist since the protest of October 2019 and say they are sensitive to his arguments as well as those of his running mate, the former director of the French-speaking daily L’Orient-le-Jour, Michel Hélou, whom they know better.
Some members of the Riad family would have preferred to vote for another opposition list but faced with the dispersion of candidates on several lists, they voted “useful”. “The citizen party, citizens of [the former minister] Charbel Nahas has a clearer program closer to my ideas but the list of Wassef Haraké is more likely to break through,” said regret, Nada, a teacher of 53 years old who lives in Beirut.
The weight of clientelism
The chances of the opposition to win one of the 128 seats of the future assembly are indeed thin against traditional parties. These were conspired in the street during the “Thaoura” (the protest of October 2019), and are now held responsible for the economic sinking of Lebanon; But the electoral law is favorable to them and many voters remain attached to their “zaïms” (community leaders), by conviction or by clientelism. Convinced that the ballot was played in advance, many Lebanese have chosen abstention. The participation rate was 41 % at 11 p.m., according to the Ministry of the Interior, down compared to 2018.
In the regions dominated by the Shiite tandem Hezbollah -Amal -The formation of the President of the Parliament Nabih Berri -, the chances of the opposition are even lower. Many candidates have thus seen their campaign hampered. Wassef Haraké was driven out of a polling station on the southern suburbs on Sunday, on Sunday by supporters of Hezbollah, at the cry of “Zionist, Zionist”. The party of God has unconditional support in this district. “He defended us against Israel, against [the organization] Islamic State. This is the only party that did not participate in corruption,” explains Mohin Esbai, a 47 -year -old merchant.
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