2009 Lebanese general election

Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon on 7 June 2009 to elect all 128 members of the Parliament of Lebanon. Although general elections are held every four years, this parliament due to various reasons stayed in power until the 2018 general election.

Background

The 2009 election was the first general election in Lebanon to be done in one day. Usually, the election used to be divided into four rounds across four weeks, with each round being held in different regions across Lebanon. Before the election, the voting age was to be lowered from 21 to 18 years, but as this requires a constitutional amendment, it did not happen before the election.

Allocation of seats Following a compromise reached in the Doha Agreement in May 2008 between the government and opposition, a new electoral law was put in place, as shown in the table below. It was passed on 29 September 2008.

Seat allocation according to The Doha AgreementSeatsMaroniteShiaSunniGreek OrthodoxDruzeArmenian OrthodoxGreek CatholicAlawiteEvangelicalMinorities14 March8 MarchBeirut19Beirut 151--1-11--150Beirut 24-11--2----22Beirut 310-1511---11100Bekaa 23Baalbek+Hermel10162---1---010Zahleh71111-12---70Rashaya+West Bekaa611211-----60Mount Lebanon 35Jbeil321--------03Kisrawan55---------05North Metn84--2-11---26Baabda632--1-----06Aley52--12-----41Chouf83-2-2-1---80North Lebanon 28Akkar71-32---1--70Dinniyeh+Minieh3--3-------30Bsharreh22---------20Tripoli81-51---1--80Zgharta33---------03Koura3---3------30Batroun22---------20South Lebanon 23Saida2--2-------20Tyre4-4--------04Zahrani3-2----1---03Hasbaya+Marjeyoun5-2111-----05Nabatiyeh3-3--------03Bint Jbeil3-3--------03Jezzine32-----1---03Total 128128342727148582127157

Results

Preliminary results indicated that the turnout had been as high as 55%. The March 14 Alliance garnered 71 seats in the 128-member parliament, while the March 8 Alliance won 57 seats. This result is virtually the same as the result from the election in 2005. However, the March 14 alliance saw this as a moral victory over Hezbollah, who led the March 8 Alliance, and the balance of power was expected to shift in its favor. Many observers expect to see the emergence of a National Unity Government similar to that created following the Doha Agreement in 2008.

Election Results for each allianceTotal% 14M14 March% 8M8 MarchBeirut19Beirut 1552.1%547.9%0Beirut 2450.5%249.5%2Beirut 31069.6%1031.4%0Bekaa 23Baalbek+Hermel1021.6%078.4%10Zahleh752.7%747.3%0Rashaya+West Bekaa653.3%646.7%0Mount Lebanon 35Jbeil328.6%071.4%3Kisrawan530.9%069.1%5North Metn842.4%258.6%6Baabda641.8%058.2%6Aley560.2%439.8%1Chouf869.6%830.4%0North Lebanon 28Akkar761.1%738.9%0Dinniyeh+Minnieh370.9%329.1%0Bsharreh271.4%228.6%0Tripoli863.5%836.5%0Zgharta344.2%055.8%3Koura351.1%348.9%0Batroun250.2%249.8%0South Lebanon 23Saida263.9%236.1%0Tyre406.8%093.2%4Zahrani310.0%090.0%3Hasbaya+Marjeyoun521.4%078.6%5Nabatiyeh311.6%088.4%3Bint Jbeil305.8%094.2%3Jezzine325.5%074.5%3Total 12812855.5%7144.5%57

Formation of government

As is typical of Lebanese politics political wrangling after the elections took 5 months. Only in November was the composition of the new cabinet agreed upon: 15 seats for the March 14 Alliance, 10 for the March 8 Alliance, and 5 nominated by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, who has cast himself as a neutral party between the two main political blocs.

Aftermath The government fell in January 2011 after the March 8 alliance's 11 ministers withdrew from the government over PM Hariri's refusal to convene a cabinet meeting to discuss possible indictments to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The March 8 alliance formed a new government in the ensuing six months, at which point the seats in parliament were divided as follows.

Source

References

External links Official Site Foreign Money Seeks to Buy Lebanese Votes, Robert Worth, April 22, 2009, The New York Times Lebanese Elections 2009 BLOG Interactive Result Map Obama's Path Passes Through Lebanon by Pol Marillas, Opinion, June 2009; European Union Institute for Security Studies

2009 Lebanese general election

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