Ballot Boxes Distributed to Heads of Polling Stations ahead of Sunday Polls

The distribution of ballot boxes began at 7:00 am on Saturday, under official supervision, at fund distribution centers around various districts in Lebanon in preparation for crucial parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The boxes were arranged and distributed to polling station employees, a day before more than 3.6 million registered Lebanese voters are set to cast their ballots.

Al-Joumhouria daily said the boxes were distributed according to a mechanism set up by the Interior Ministry allowing heads of polling stations to receive the boxes easily without any delay.

The vote, the first for a parliament since 2009, is also the first since Lebanon adopted a new election law last year.

The law changed the previous winner-takes-all system to a complicated sectarian-based proportional representation which awards the number of seats by the share of vote received. There are more than 500 candidates running in 15 districts around the country for the 128-seat parliament.

All eyes are on whether the voting Sunday and the turnout can loosen the grip of an established political class on the country's affairs.