UPDATE – Lebanese voters elect new parliament

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, VOTER TURNOUT, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Edward Haddad

BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanese voters on Sunday began to cast ballot in the country’s general election, the first vote in nine years.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT).

Television broadcasts showed voters queuing at polling stations to cast their ballots.

At midday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun cast his ballot in Baabda in Mount Lebanon province in western Lebanon.

“The Lebanese are practicing the most important national process to elect their representatives for the coming four years,” he said in a press statement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saadi Hariri also cast his ballot in the capital Beirut.

Voting “is the right of every citizen, who has to practice this right,” he said.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said voter turnout reached between 8-20 percent by 2.15 p.m. (1115 GMT).

The polls see 917 candidates from a host of competing political parties compete for 128 seats in Lebanon’s national assembly.

The vote is held under a new proportional system, which divides the country into 15 separate electoral constituencies.

Official results of the polls are expected to be announced in the coming days.