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In pictures: Lebanon’s first parliamentary elections in nine years
Polls open on Sunday under a new law based on proportional representation that’s meant to more accurately represent Lebanon’s complex sectarian demographics. With few expecting major changes to the delicate balance of power, the post-ballot focus will be on building a cabinet able to carry out measures sought by donors, a complicated task in a country where divisions have stymied reforms for decades.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri ticks his ballot behind a booth as he votes at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (C) casts his vote at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
Reporters gather around Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (C) as he registers after casting his vote at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A Lebanese Sunni cleric ticks his ballot behind a booth as he votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years, at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018.
Lebanese election registrars make ballots ready for voters arriving at a polling station in the coastal city of Byblos, north of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018 in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A Lebanese man dips his thumb in voting ink after casting his vote in the first parliamentary election in nine years, in the coastal city of Byblos, north of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018.
Lebanese election registrars assist an elderly voter as he puts his checked ballot in the box while voting in the first parliamentary election in nine years, in the coastal city of Byblos, north of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018.
Lebanese voters queue in line to cast their votes at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018, as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A Lebanese woman shows her identity card as she queues up to vote at a polling station in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, south of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
Lebanese women voters queue in line to cast their votes at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018, as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A Lebanese Shiite woman flashes her ink-stained thumb and waves a flag of the Shiite Hezbollah movement after voting at a polling station in the capital Beirut on May 6, 2018, as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A member of the internal security forces checks the IDs of voters queuing to cast their votes outside a polling station in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, south of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
A Lebanese election registrar helps a man register after voting in the first parliamentary election in nine years, in the coastal city of Byblos, north of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018.
Gibran Bassil (C), the Lebanese Foreign Minister and leader of the ‘Free Patriotic Movement’, poses for a ‘selfie’ photograph with his wife Chantal as he arrives to cast his vote at a polling station in the Lebanese coastal city of Batroun, north of the capital Beirut, on May 6, 2018, as the country votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.
