This article does not necessarily represents khazen.org  by ERIC REGULY — theglobeandmail.com Lebanon goes to the polls for the first time in nine years on May 6, and the election has put the entire region on tenterhooks. Will the outcome change the geopolitical calculus between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two archrivals who are trying to turn Lebanon […]

This is an opinion article, it does not necessarily reflects khazen.org  Reuters by Tom Perry & Ali Hashisho –SIDON, Lebanon (Reuters) – The last time Lebanon held a parliamentary election, Youssef Sanjar enjoyed a paid flight home from Saudi Arabia to vote for Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s party. As an employee of the then thriving Saudi […]

by arabnews.com — Lebanon’s political old guard have been at the government’s helm for decades -– some since the 15-year-long civil war came to an end in 1990. But as the parliamentary elections approach, fresh faces have started to appear from within the independent groups who are challenging the political elite. Groups that have risen […]

BEIRUT, May 1 (Xinhua) — The Lebanese Customs police on Tuesday seized 6 kg of drugs hidden inside shoe soles of a smuggler at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The police was tipped off about the drug smuggling attempt before the seizure, the NNA said. The suspect, […]

by Najib A. Mozahem — sciencetrends.com – It is no secret that the printed newspaper industry is facing a crisis. This is due to the fact that people can now get news updates almost instantaneously, thanks to smartphones. As the users migrate online, so do the advertisers. Why advertise in newspapers when specific market segments can be targeted […]

by naharnet-– “Official turnout statistics have shown 59% of people registered have cast their votes,” he said. He said the elections cost held around 40 Arab and foreign countries, “reached around $1.5 million.” Voter turnout in Australia reached 58%, in Europe 59.5%, in Africa 68%, in Latin America 45%, in Americas around 55%, in Arab […]

The Daily Star — BEIRUT: Polls opened for Lebanese citizens living abroad in the United States, Canada and Latin America as voting closed in Australia Sunday afternoon, in the second phase of a historic first expat vote. Polling began around midnight Saturday night in Australia, the country with the most Lebanese expats registered in the current election. The ballot boxes in Australia closed at around 3 p.m. Beirut time, or 10 p.m. in Australia. Some 11,826 Lebanese citizens in Australia registered to vote in this year’s parliamentary elections. Canada and the U.S. are home to the second and third highest number of registered Lebanese voters, respectively. Polls also opened Sunday morning in Europe and countries across Africa with significant Lebanese populations, including the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Senegal. The race is the first in which Lebanese expatriates have the right participate from overseas.

As of 5:15 p.m. Beirut time, numbers circulating in local media said that polls closed in Australia with 6,602 voters, with 239 votes counted so far in Canada, 205 in the United States, 102 in Armenia, 775 in the Ivory Coast, 489 in Nigeria, 60 voters in Senegal, no voters in Guinea, 81 in Ghana, 118 in Congo, 72 in South Africa, 50 in Sierra Leone, 81 in Gabon, 84 in Liberia and no votes in Benin. Earlier in the day, expat elections supervisor Bilal Qablan said polling stations were “under a lot of pressure” due to high voter turnout. In Europe, local media reported 1,809 voters cast ballots so far in France, 2,114 in Germany, 628 in Sweden, 371 in the United Kingdom, 322 in Belgium, 203 in Switzerland, 135 in Italy, 74 in Spain, 135 in Romania, 123 in Greece, 76 in Denmark and 72 in the Netherlands. In Latin America, local media reported that in Brazil the number of voters reached 96, none in Venezuela, 19 in Paraguay, 8 in Argentina, none in Mexico and none in Columbia. Local TV channel LBCI reported that voters in Germany encountered several difficulties. One of the most significant issues that voters faced, particularly in Berlin, was not having their names registered to vote at polling stations there. Some citizens reportedly arrived to polling stations in the German capital only to find that their names were registered to vote in another city such as Dusseldorf, which is around a five-hour drive away. Some voters hadn’t been recorded on voting lists at all. Many registered voters in Germany originate from Hezbollah and Amal Movement strongholds in southern Lebanon, with some supporters of the Shiite parties telling local media they suspected the technical difficulties had been orchestrated to lower turnout in these districts. “There are fatal errors in voters’ lists,” Amal Movement MP Ali Bazzi said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency. “We received hundreds of complaints from citizens who took the burden [of going to the polling stations] and were surprised that either their names weren’t on the voting lists or that [they were recorded to vote] in different polling stations in different cities,” he said. “It is our right to ask if what happened was a technical error that can be corrected or if it was done on purpose – and this is our fear,” Bazzi was quoted as saying.

 by middleeastmonitor.com —Lebanon’s army said late on Saturday that an Israel border patrol had seized a Lebanese woman in the Shebaa area and taken her across the frontier. “On April 28 at 8.30pm an Israeli enemy patrol carried out the abduction of Nohad Dali from the town of Shebaa and took her into occupied Palestinian […]

by lebaneseexaminer.com — As Lebanon gears up for its first parliamentary elections in 9 years, candidates are spending big money on their last-minute push to garner recognition and get people out to vote. According to the AFP news agency, advertising on a single Lebanese talk show episode can cost up to $240,000. This includes a […]