2018 Lebanese general election

Following the last parliamentary election of 2009, it took several months to form a new government. Saad Hariri eventually became prime minister in a March 14 Alliance government formed in November 2009. About a year later, Walid Jumblatt's PSP broke away from the alliance and withdrew its ministers. Jumblatt then traveled to Syria for the first time in decades and met President Bashar al-Assad. After the government fell over the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a new government was formed by Najib Mikati that consisted of March 8 Alliance parties, as well as the PSP. Over the course of the Syrian civil war, fissures started to grow in Lebanon as 14 March parties supported the opposition in Syria while 8 March parties were ostensibly supportive of the Syrian government, particularly in the early stages. The 8 March parties therefore faced accusation from the opposition and its affiliated media of kowtowing to the Syrian government. As the Syrian conflict started to spill over into Lebanon, both via refugees and Lebanon's own diverse demographics that are broadly reflective of Syria's own diversity, tensions started to grow. A spate of sectarian kidnappings and threats followed, some of which turned fatal. On 22 March 2013, Mikati resigned, citing a negative climate over the appointment of a committee to oversee the election and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) head Ashraf Rifi, who was expected to retire in April, continuing in the position. On 5 April, a new 14 March Alliance-backed consensus candidate for prime minister was announced, Tammam Salam. ==Postponement==

A new president should have been elected by Parliament before the legislative elections took place. However, there was a deadlock which resulted in fourteen fruitless attempts to choose a head of state. Therefore, Parliament decided on 5 November 2014 to extend its term by 2 years and 7 months. The deadlock was perceived to arise from failure to reach quorum due to the voluntary absence of members from the ex- 8 March alliance. ==Electoral system==

In June 2017 a new electoral law was passed. The previous system (under which the 128 members of parliament were elected from 26 multi-member constituencies under multiple non-transferable vote, and the candidates with the highest number of votes within each religious community were elected) with a new electoral law instituting proportional representation in 15 multi-member constituencies while still maintaining the confessional distribution. However, the 7 out of the 15 of the electoral districts are divided into 2 or more 'minor districts' (largely corresponding to the smaller electoral districts from the old electoral law). Where applicable, preference vote is counted on the 'minor district' level. Individuals could submit their candidacy for parliament until midnight of 6 March 2018. 976 candidates were registered, including 111 women. Candidates were obliged to join lists, which had to be finalized by 26 March 2018. ==Electorate==

The Shia electorate constituted the majority of registered voters in Bekaa III, South II and South III, together accounting for 79% of the total Shia electorate. Below is a summary of the demographics of the Lebanese electorate with data from 2017, divided by the qada administrative districts (or in the case of Beirut, the old 2008 vote law electoral districts). ==Parties==

Amal Amal leader and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri held a press conference at his Ain al-Tineh residence on 19 February 2018, to present the electoral platform and the 16 candidates of the Amal Movement. Berri highlighted the ongoing oil exploration project, calling for setting up a national oil company and a sovereign oil fund. However, compared to the previous election, the Amal-Hezbollah bloc lacked an alliance with Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement. But whilst FPM and Amal had parted ways nationally, they still managed to form alliances in Mount Lebanon III and Beirut II. In Mount Lebanon III (Baabda) the joint list carried the label 'National Reconciliation'. And whilst Berri and the Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil had a public fall-out in early 2018, which sparked street riots, Berri's post as Speaker of the Parliament appeared to be fairly secured during the electoral campaign. Both the Hariri and Jumblatt camps affirmed their support to Berri's speakership in the run-up to the polls. According to political analysts, the Amal-Hezbollah victory seemed probably in Berri's home constituency, South II, as opposition forces had failed to produce a strong list to challenge him in his home turf. In Bekaa II, Amal backed the 'Best Tomorrow' list. In Mount Lebanon I (Byblos-Kesrwan) FPM fielded the "Strong Lebanon" list led by Chamel Roukoz. In Mount Lebanon II (Metn) FPM fielded the "Strong Metn" list together with the SSNP and Tashnaq. After the split between the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces, a joint list for Beirut I of the Free Patriotic Movement, Tashnaq and the Hunchaks was conceived. supported by the Future Movement. In Bekaa I FPM, Future, Tashnaq and independents fielded a joint list. In North II FPM fielded a list in alliance with Kamal Kheir. Moreover, whilst FPM and the Amal-Hezbollah coalition parted ways nationally, joint lists were presented in Beirut II and in Mount Lebanon III (Baabda). In South III the Future Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Democratic Party supported a joint list called "The South is Worth It", with two FPM-supported independents. Future Movement At a ceremony in the Seaside Pavilion on 11 March 2018 the candidates and electoral platform of the Future Movement were presented. The party fielded 37 candidates, out of whom 21 were newcomers. The political newcomers included lawyer Roula Tabash Jaroudi in Beirut II and civil society activist Chadi Nacchabe in Tripoli. The electoral slogan of the party was 'Blue Talisman' (kharzé zar’a). Hezbollah On 19 February 2018, Hezbollah general secretary Hassan Nasrallah presented the names of the 13 Hezbollah candidates. Amongst the candidates there were five new faces. He stated that rooting out corruption would be the foremost priority of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc. Overall, Hezbollah performed the best in the case of popular vote in the election, and had substantial electoral vote gains as well. Kataeb Party Kataeb ran the elections based on an attempt to re-brand the party as a reformist political force, and distance it from its right-wing conservative legacy. The electoral slogan of the party was 'A Pulse for Change'. The electoral slogan of the party for the election campaign was It has become necessary (sar badda). The Democratic Gathering bloc, the parliamentary platform of the Progressive Socialist Party, fielded 9 candidates across the country. The number of candidates of the party was lower than in previous elections, in 2009 the bloc won 11 seats. For the first time since 1992 PSP chief Walid Jumblatt did not stand as a candidate, with Taymour taking over as the party leader. The party fielded candidates for 3 out of 4 Druze seats in Mount Lebanon IV, keeping with the tradition of leaving a seat uncontested to help LDP chief Talal Arslan get elected. PSP joined joint lists with the Future Movement in Beirut II, Bekaa II and Mount Lebanon IV and with Lebanese Forces in Mount Lebanon III and Mount Lebanon IV. Arab Democratic Party In a statement issued on 29 April 2018 the Political Representative of the Arab Democratic Party Rifaat Eid called on his followers to vote for the Alawite candidates Hussein Saloum (on the list of Wajih Barini) in North I and Ahmed Omran in North II (on the list of Faisal Karami). Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Prior to the election the Arab Socialist Baath Party had suffered a split, with Regional Secretary Assem Qanso and Numan Shalq heading in different directions. Both factions had nominated candidates for the elections, but none was accepted into a list and were thus eliminated from the polls. Reportedly, the Syrian ambassador had lobbied against any list accepting Qanso's candidates, as his group is not recognized from Damascus. A Baathist politician, Kassem Hachem, was included in a list in South III as Amal candidate, but not on behalf of the party. Former Regional Secretary Fayez Shukr headed a list in Bekaa III. Lebanese Democratic Party Talal Arslan's LDP gained only one seat in the new parliament, held by Erslan himself, as all other Druze seats were won by candidates from or supported by the Progressive Socialist Party. In Beirut II, LDP had hoped to get Nasib Jawari included as the Druze candidate on the Amal-Hezbollah, but Jawari was not included and LDP withdrew his candidature. Likewise LDP withdrew its candidate from the race in the Bekaa II electoral district. Kulluna Watani Alliance The civil society alliance behind the "Kulluna Watani" (We are all Patriots) ('Kulluna Watani') lists held a launching event on 9 April 2018 at Forum of Beirut. The alliance gathered with a new Political Party ("Sabaa") and 10 different campaign and groups, most of which are connected to campaigns started in the protest movements of 2015 or the municipal elections of 2016. In Beirut I, Ramgavar candidates joined the list of Lebanese Forces, Kataeb and Michel Pharaon. One of its candidates is Dr. Avedis Dakassian, the Chair of the Lebanon Regional Committee of the party. In Metn, a Ramgavar candidate joined the list of Lebanese Forces. Rifi Bloc Ashraf Rifi, former Hariri ally, Internal Security Forces chief and Justice Minister, broke ranks with Hariri in 2016. He fielded his own lists in the parliamentary election, in a move to challenge Hariri's dominance over Sunni politics. Ahead of the elections he profiled himself as a "hawk", unwilling to enter into talks with Hezbollah. Rifi fielded lists in three electoral districts; Beirut II, and North II. Likewise, Lebanese Forces and Rifi discussed a joint list in Bekaa III, but no such list materialized. Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag) On 22 March 2018 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Tashnag, announced its candidates in Beirut I and Mount Lebanon II (Metn). The party contested three seats in Beirut I and fielded incumbent parliamentarian Hagop Pakradounian in Metn. In Beirut I the party entered in alliance with FPM, Hunchaks and the Future Movement. The support for Bilezikjian's candidature was part of a wider agreement between Tashnaq and the Future Movement. ==Candidates==

After the deadline on 26 March 2018, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities announced that 77 lists, with a total of 583 candidates, had been registered. The highest number of lists was in Beirut II, where nine lists were registered. Only two lists were registered in the Zahrani-Tyre electoral district. Notably, the erstwhile 8 March and 14 March blocs, which had dominated the 2009 elections, are no longer functional and parties sought alliances on local dynamics when setting up lists. A record number of Lebanese women running for office. In fact, out of the total 976 candidates who originally registered to run, 111 were female candidates – a staggering surge compared to just 12 women in 2009. == International voting ==

During the elections 82,965 people registered to vote, 61.6% were males and 38.4% were females, however 46,799(56.4%) actually voted. Diaspora results by party The report found that the countries with the most voters registered in, those in North America, Australia, France, and the United Arab Emirates, mostly supported Lebanese Forces, Marada and FPM lists and candidates. Meanwhile, Amal and Hezbollah received the most votes in Germany and Africa. The report also found large support for the Future Movement in Saudi Arabia. ==Results==

In a statement issued in the evening of 7 May, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk promised to release full election result within 36–48 hours. In his statement, he announced "final, yet incomplete" official results, providing the names of elected parliamentarians from 14 out of 15 electoral districts. On 8 May, Machnouk announced the names of the victorious candidates from Akkar. Following the announcement of results, the FPM leader Gebran Bassil stated that FPM would form the largest bloc in parliament (a role previously played by the Future Movement). Bassil stated that FPM would gather up to 30 MPs, including Talal Arslan, Tashnaqs and "businessmen". Results by alliance and parties :Disclaimer: This listing uses a narrow definition of party votes, the preference votes cast for identified party candidates. For an overview of the voting percentages of the lists supported by different parties, see "Results by lists" table below. Results by lists == Result by candidate ==

Domestic Prime Minister Saad Hariri, commenting on the election result the day after the election, admitted that his Future Movement had lost 12 seats, but reaffirmed that "[t]hose who won in parliamentary elections are our partners in the principle of stability" and that he was satisfied with the outcome. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said the outcome was "a great moral and political victory for Hezbollah, which protects the country" and that "proportionality vote law offered all political factions the opportunity to represent themselves in the elections, mitigated the risks of exclusion from Lebanon’s political structure, and assured all sides that they will have a role in the administration." He further added: "The United States and some Persian Gulf states resorted to smear campaign in a bid to poison public opinion towards Hezbollah. Their efforts, however, ended in failure...No one in the world can target Hezbollah as it has firm support among various strata of the Lebanese society. Towns and cities in southern Lebanon have served as the resistance front in the face of threats being poised by the Israeli regime and terrorist groups. Enemies' plots to undermine Hezbollah popularity in those regions have yielded nothing...We must avoid any sectarian or inflammatory speech similar to those delivered before the elections if we want to avoid any conflict in the country." International • – Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi congratulated the Lebanese government and people. He added: "The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the holding of peaceful elections under the current circumstances in the region is regarded as a big achievement in the democratic trend for all Lebanese people." • – Education Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Twitter: "Hezbollah = Lebanon...[Israel] will not differentiate between the sovereign State of Lebanon and Hezbollah, and will view Lebanon as responsible for any action from within its territory." • and – According to Naharnet, the Emirati ambassador and the Saudi chargé d'affaires in Beirut issued a joint statement congratulating Samir Geagea on his electoral victory, after visiting him in Mearab, Mount Lebanon. ==See also==