Lebanese general election, 2009

Lebanese general election, 2009

7 June 2009

All 128 seats to the Parliament of Lebanon   First party Second party   Leader Saad Hariri Michel Aoun Party March 14 March 8 Leader's seat Beirut 3 Keserwan Last election 72 seats 56 seats Seats won 71 57 Seat change 1 1

Areas with a March 14 majority in blue, areas with a March 8 majority in orange

Prime Minister before election Fouad Siniora March 14 Elected Prime Minister Saad Hariri March 14

Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon on 7 June 2009.^[1][2]

Background

Prior to the election, the process to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years was put into motion, but as this requires a constitutional amendment, it did not happen before the election.^[3]

Allocation of seats

Following a compromise reached in the Doha Agreement on May 2008 between the government and opposition, a new electoral law was put in place, as shown in the table below.^[4] It was passed on 29 September 2008.^[5]

colspan=2|Seat allocation according to The Doha Agreement[6]	Total	Maronites	Shi'a	Sunni	Greek Orthodox	Druze	Armenian Orthodox	Greek Catholic	Alawite	Protestant	Other Christians	14 March	8 March
Beirut 19	Beirut 1	5	1	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	1	5	0
	Beirut 2	4	-	1	1	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	2	2
	Beirut 3	10	-	1	5	1	1	-	-	-	1	1	10	0
Bekaa 23	Baalbek +Hermel	10	1	6	2	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	0	10
	Zahleh	7	1	1	1	1	-	1	2	-	-	-	7	0
	Rashaya +West Bekaa	6	1	1	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	6	0
Mount Lebanon 35	Jbeil	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	3
	Kisrawan	5	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	5
	North Metn	8	4	-	-	2	-	1	1	-	-	-	2	6
	Baabda	6	3	2	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	0	6
	Aley	5	2	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	4	1
	Chouf	8	3	-	2	-	2	-	1	-	-	-	8	0
North Lebanon 28	Akkar	7	1	-	3	2	-	-	-	1	-	-	7	0
	Dinniyeh +Minieh	3	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	0
	Bsharreh	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	0
	Tripoli	8	1	-	5	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	8	0
	Zgharta	3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	3
	Koura	3	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	0
	Batrun	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	0
South Lebanon 23	Saida	2	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	0
	Tyre	4	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	4
	Zahrani	3	-	2	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	0	3
	Hasbaya +Marjeyoun	5	-	2	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	0	5
	Nabatiyeh	3	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	3
	Bint Jbeil	3	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	3
	Jezzine	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	0	3
Total 128		128	34	27	27	14	8	5	8	2	1	2	71	57

Results

Logo of the Lebanese general election, 2009

Preliminary results indicated that the turnout had been as high as 55%.^[7] 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.^[8] Many observers expect to see the emergence of a National Unity Government similar to that created following the Doha Agreement in 2008.^[9]

Election Results for each alliance[10]		Total	% 14M	14 March	% 8M	8 March
Beirut 19	Beirut 1	5	52.1%	5	47.9%	0
	Beirut 2	4	50.5%	2	49.5%	2
	Beirut 3	10	69.6%	10	31.4%	0
Bekaa 23	Baalbek +Hermel	10	21.6%	0	78.4%	10
	Zahleh	7	52.7%	7	47.3%	0
	Rashaya +West Bekaa	6	53.3%	6	46.7%	0
Mount Lebanon 35	Jbeil	3	39.6%	0	60.4%	3
	Kisrawan	5	44.9%	0	55.1%	5
	North Metn	8	48.4%	2	51.6%	6
	Baabda	6	43.8%	0	56.2%	6
	Aley	5	61.2%	4	38.8%	1
	Chouf	8	75.6%	8	24.4%	0
North Lebanon 28	Akkar	7	63.1%	7	36.9%	0
	Dinniyeh +Minnieh	3	70.9%	3	29.1%	0
	Bsharreh	2	73.4%	2	26.6%	0
	Tripoli	8	63.5%	8	36.5%	0
	Zgharta	3	44.2%	0	55.8%	3
	Koura	3	51.1%	3	48.9%	0
	Batrun	2	52.2%	2	47.8%	0
South Lebanon 23	Saida	2	63.9%	2	36.1%	0
	Tyre	4	06.8%	0	93.2%	4
	Zahrani	3	10.0%	0	90.0%	3
	Hasbaya +Marjeyoun	5	21.4%	0	78.6%	5
	Nabatiyeh	3	11.6%	0	88.4%	3
	Bint Jbeil	3	05.8%	0	94.2%	3
	Jezzine	3	25.5%	0	74.5%	3
Total 128		128	44.5%	71	55.5%	57

By party after the Elections

Alliances	Opponents
Parties	align=left	Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb)
	Future Movement
	Murr Bloc
	Glory Movement (Harakat Majd)
	Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
	Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
	National Liberal Party (Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār)
Government	rowspan=4 valign=top align="right"	United States
	France
	Saudi Arabia
	Qatar
	Source

By party after the designation of Najib Mikati in January 2011

 Summary of the 7 June 2009 Lebanese Parliament election results

Alliances	Seats	Parties	Seats
Government 68	29	Change and Reform bloc
		Free Patriotic Movement (Tayyar Al-Watani Al-Horr)	19
		Lebanese Democratic Party (Hizb al-democraty al-lubnany)	4
		Marada Movement	3
		Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag)	2
		Solidarity Party (Hizb Al-Tadamon Al-Lubnany)	1
	29	March 8 Alliance
		Amal Movement (Harakat Amal)	13
		Loyalty to the Resistance (Hezbollah)	12
		Syrian Social Nationalist Party (al-Hizb al-Qawmi al-souri al ijtima'i)	2
		Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party	2
	10	Pro-Government Independents
		Progressive Socialist Party	7
		Glory Movement	2
		Other	1
Opposition 58	58	March 14 Alliance
		Future Movement (Tayyar Al Mustaqbal)	26
		Lebanese Forces (al-Quwāt al-Lubnāniyya)	8
		Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb)	5
		Murr Bloc	2
		Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Social Democrat Hunchakian Party)	2
		Islamic Group (Jamaa al-Islamiya)	1
		Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar Party)	1
		Democratic Left Movement (ĥarakatu-l-yasāri-d-dimuqrātī)	1
		National Liberal Party (Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār)	1
		Independents (including Zahle-Bloc 6)	11
–	–	Total	126

Formation of government

As is typical of Lebanese politics political wrangling after the elections took 5 months.^[11] 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 blocks.^[12]

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.^[13]

The March 8 alliance former a new government in the ensuing six months.

See also

• Lebanese general election, 2005

References

1. Lebanon's ruling coalition urges lawmakers to ban presidential election - People's Daily Online
2. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6567795.html
3. "Lebanon voting age lowered by MPs". BBC News. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
4. "Lebanon rivals agree crisis deal". BBC News. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
5. "Lebanon approves new election law". BBC News. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
6. Blacksmiths of Lebanon: 2009 Electoral Districts
7. Slackman, Michael (7 June 2009). "Pro-Western Bloc Defeats Hezbollah in Lebanon Vote". NYT. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
8. Slackman, Michael (2009-06-09). "U.S.-Backed Alliance Wins Election in Lebanon". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
9. "March 14 bloc wins Lebanon election". Al Jazeera English.
10. Elections 09 - Lebanon Elections 2009
11. International Foundation for Electoral Systems (9 November 2009). Lebanon's New Government (PDF) (Report).
12. Worth, Robert F. (2009-11-10). "Impasse Over, Lebanon Forms Cabinet". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
13. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111148327398443.html

External links

• Official Site
• 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