Lebanese voters cast ballots in first parliamentary election in 9 years

BEIRUT - Polling stations opened early Sunday in Lebanon as voters cast their ballots in the first parliamentary election in nine years, amid calls for change and hope for a better future.

The polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 am local time (0400 GMT). Security has been beefed up at the polling stations and government buildings to prevent potential terror attacks.

A long queue formed in the early morning at the polling station set up in the Omar Fakhuri Primary School in southern Beirut, the capital, as dozens of voters waited patiently for their turn to vote.

This year's election saw a lot of young voters, estimated at 800,000, who were hoping for a major change.

"Speaking as a college student, we need jobs, we need more respect, we need to be cured, we need to be helped, we hope to have everything new, everything better than before," Jalal Bukhari, a 23-year college student, told Xinhua.

Lebanese Interior Ministry statistics showed that about 3.7 million registered voters are eligible to cast their votes this year. There are 976 registered candidates, including 111 women, running for the 128 seats in this year's election, which adopts a new system of proportional representation to replace the traditional winner-takes-all principle.

Major players in the election include the Future Movement, led by incumbent Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri; the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by incumbent Christian President Michel Aoun and led by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil; the Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed powerful Shiite political faction in Lebanon; the Amal Movement, led by incumbent Speaker Nabih Berri who has been in office since 1992; and the Lebanese Forces, a Christian opponent of Hezbollah.

Though having enjoyed relative peace due to the delicate political balance reached among the Christians, Muslims and the Hezbollah since the 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanon has long been ruled by traditional powers including previous warlords and influential families.

In recent years, the Lebanese public has been voicing discontent over the declining public services, as illustrated by constant water and power cuts as well as corruption, and the rising number of Syrian refugees in the country.

Despite the popular prediction that this year's election is unlikely to fundamentally change the political division as most of the old guards are expected to retain power, many voters are still upbeat about it and the country's future.

Samira Hejazi, a 70-year-old woman, told Xinhua that she voted for Hariri.

Though complaining about the "complicated" political system and divergent opinions in this small but religiously diverse country, Hejazi said she still hopes this election would bring about some new changes.

"I'm optimistic about the future. Lebanon is a great country, and Lebanese people are very good people," she said.

To ensure the fairness of the election and prevent voting fraud, Lebanon has invited the European Union (EU) and the US-based National Democratic Institute to monitor the voting on Sunday.

A group of 36 short-time EU monitors were deployed Friday across Lebanon to monitor the voting, in addition to 24 long-term EU monitors and 40 Beirut-based staff members from the embassies of EU member states.