Voting Begins in Lebanon in First General Election in 9 Years

Voting started at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and is scheduled to last until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT), with unofficial results expected to start coming in overnight and a formal tally announced in the coming days, Reuters reported.

Whatever the result, a new coalition government including most of the major parties is likely to be formed after the election, analysts have said.

Getting a new government in place quickly would reassure investors of Lebanon’s economic stability after donors pledged $11 billion in soft loans for a capital investment program last month, in return for fiscal and other reforms.

Lebanese are closely watching the performance of Prime Minister Sa’ad al-Hariri’s Future Movement party and the Arab country’s Hezbollah resistance movement.