6 yıl önce

Familiar family names to dominate ballot in Lebanon's elections

Lebanese will have a first opportunity in nine years to vote in a general election, but candidates will mostly be trading on their family name.

AFP

A Lebanese national casts his ballot in a parliamentary election at a polling station set up at the Lebanese School in Abidjan on April 29, 2018.

Lebanese will have a first opportunity in nine years to vote in a general election on May 6 under new rules. The election is expected to bring some changes to parliament but will preserve a unity government, made up of its main political blocs.

A smooth election and the swift formation of a new government are not only important for Lebanon's political stability but also to bolster a weak economy that is in dire need of reforms and investment.

The new voting system has generated uncertainty in some districts, but Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, looks likely to form another unity government that includes the Iran-backed Shia movement, Hezbollah.

But Lebanese politics is known for keeping it in the family. Politicians are often members of the same political dynasties, and many new candidates in Sunday's parliamentary elections will also be trading on their family name.

TRT World's Abubakr al Shamahi has more from Beirut.