From Sydney to California, the second phase of the elections started at midnight on Saturday, Sunday, Beirut time, after a first phase that witnessed 60 percent participation in 10 countries, 9 Arab and 1 foreign.
It is scheduled to complete the elections process tomorrow, Monday, in the state of Los Angeles, USA, due to the time difference.
Lebanese expatriates residing in Lebanon participated in their election day, which started early according to local time, in front of television screens that directly transmitted the polls from outside Lebanon, which reflected positively on many citizens who yearn for change against the authority of the parties controlling Lebanon, which hold the joints of the country.
Sunday Lebanon time
At midnight, 14 polling stations opened in the cities of Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, and included 59 sub-committees, in which 20,661 Lebanese voted.
194,348 expatriates have the right to vote in the second phase of the elections for Lebanese abroad in the 48 countries that adopt Sunday as a weekly official holiday, starting from seven in the morning local time until ten in the evening.
The United States has the largest number of Lebanese expatriates registered to participate in the elections, with 27,982 voters registered, followed by France with 27,813 voters, then Canada, in which more than 27,447 thousand expatriates registered, and then the UAE with 25,066, distributed among 3 polling stations with 52 sub-committees.
Australia also includes 20,661 registered expatriates, Germany 16,171 people, Britain 6,535 people, Ivory Coast 6,070 people, and Brazil 2,861 people.
Citizen Samia from Tripoli told Sky News Arabia: “I followed the elections from Tripoli to Sydney, where my relatives are there and they dream of change.”
The Lebanese Embassy in Sydney witnessed electoral rallies. And “Sky News Arabia” learned that a large number of Lebanese voted for the first time.
In the UAE, where the turnout is expected to exceed 60 percent, the Lebanese embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai have witnessed a heavy presence since the morning.
Engineer Yassin, in front of the consulate in Dubai, described the atmosphere as “excellent”, and said: “There are those who were elected early and went to the place despite the hot weather. We are with change and we want the best, and it can be said that the words of change appeared on the faces of everyone who was in front of the consulate.”
For her part, the media, Rasha Al-Halabi from Istanbul, said: “I was elected as a generosity for the martyrs of the port of Beirut and the martyrs of the Al-Talil fire in Akkar and the port of Tripoli, in honor of the citizen who waited in gas and petrol queues and whose money was stolen from him in the banks.”
As Ralph from Italy said to “Sky News Arabia”: “Most of us participated today with enthusiasm, this year we have a strange sense through which we want to tell the kidnappers of our country that we can change.”
Suhad said from Berlin: “The turnout is high, but we suffer from the idea of accepting the unfair election law because it obliges us to names that do not represent us, and there are those who did not find a list representing their convictions.”
As Shadi, who arrived in London six months ago, said: “I was elected to return to Lebanon. There are those who came as an immigrant to stay, and I will return, and the de facto forces will leave Lebanon.”
International director Ziad Douiri said: “Yes, we were elected against Hezbollah.”
In Boston, the elections began in the afternoon Beirut time. The Lebanese Wissam told Sky News Arabia: “We have great enthusiasm for change and there is a presence of independents, and the scene suggests that we are in Lebanon and not in Boston.”
Elections are scheduled to take place in Lebanon on May 15, and civil officials organizing the electoral process will cast their votes on May 12.
shots
* During his visit to the Elections Monitoring Operations Room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, President Michel Aoun was invited to give a speech to the media, but he was surprised by the uproar and chaos, so he addressed them saying: “If you want to speak, shut up.”
* It was noted that the supporters of the Amal Movement (the party of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri) were strongly present in Germany, and were distinguished by their electoral machine and by voting for the “Loyalty and Hope” list. A group shouted in front of one of the polling stations: “With our souls and blood, we will redeem you, Nabih. Oh Nabih, rest, rest, Berlin has become Sheyah.”
* The polls in Sydney, Australia, opened with the traditional dabkeh dance, which was performed by a group of young men from the town of Deir al-Ahmar in the northern Bekaa.
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