Miqati urges for high turnout Sunday, says voting 'gateway for change'
Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged the Lebanese Wednesday to cast their votes in the parliamentary elections on Sunday.
"Voting is a right and duty that one should not refrain from nor hesitate to perform," Miqati said.
He added that "this is the natural gateway for change."
The elections on May 15 will be the first since a youth-led protest movement broke out in October 2019 against a political class seen as inept, corrupt and responsible for a litany of woes, from power blackouts to piles of uncollected garbage.
The anger exploded into months of street rallies but lost momentum as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, together with a financial crash that the World Bank has labelled one of the world's worst in modern times.
While independent candidates are expected to improve slightly on their 2018 showing, experts believe the elections will largely consolidate the status quo in a country beholden to sectarian politics.
Lebanese expatriates had kickstarted the critical election on Friday and Sunday in 58 countries, as the unprecedented crisis has spurred a mass population exodus.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/289696 |