Lebanon’s polling stations opened Sunday for the first parliamentary elections in nine years, with people lining up early in the morning to take part in a vote that is fiercely contested between rival groups backed by regional and international powers.

Sunday’s vote is taking place amid tight security, with army and police forces deployed near polling stations and on major intersections. Electoral campaigns have been tense as each group has mobilized its supporters, with fist fights and shootings occurring in several areas in recent weeks.

The main race is between a Western-backed coalition headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. The vote also reflects regional tensions between Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which back the rival groups.

The vote is the first since Syria’s war broke out in 2011. Hezbollah has sent thousands of fighters to back Bashar Assad’s forces, a move that has been harshly criticized by many Lebanese, mainly Sunni Muslims and Christians who see the group as pulling the country into regional conflicts.

The house’s term was supposed to expire in 2013, but lawmakers have approved several extensions since then, citing security concerns linked to the spillover from Syria’s war. Lebanese who support opposing sides in the war have clashed on a number of occasions, and Sunni extremists have carried out several bombings. The war next door driven more than a million Syrian refugees into Lebanon, straining the country’s economy and infrastructure.

There are about 3.6 million eligible voters, and early results are expected after polling stations close at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT). Some 586 candidates, including 86 women, are running for the 128-seat parliament, which is equally divided between Muslims and Christians.

This year’s vote is according to a new election law that is based on proportional representation, implemented for the first time since Lebanon’s independence in 1943. Voters will choose one list of allied candidates, as well as a preferred candidate from among them.

In the past, the winning list took all the seats in the electoral district.

Hezbollah and its allies are likely to add more seats, while Hariri is likely to lose several. Some of his Sunni supporters see him as being too soft on Hezbollah, and the billionaire businessman has also faced criticism after laying off scores of employees from his companies in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Still, Hariri will most likely be named to form a national unity Cabinet after the vote. Rival sides can hardly govern effectively without each other, and are expected to recreate the unity government that currently exists, which includes Hezbollah.

The vote comes a week after Lebanese living oversees voted in 39 countries around the world for the first time ever.

Here’s a look at the main political parties and key players:

Future Movement: The Future Movement of Prime Minister Saad Hariri was founded in the mid-1990s by his father, the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in a massive bombing in 2005. Hariri, a Sunni politician who also holds Saudi citizenship, currently heads the largest bloc in parliament. He is a critic of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, which is nevertheless part of his unity government. Hariri’s Future Movement is expected to lose some of its seats during Sunday’s s elections due to a new electoral law that is likely to fragment the Sunni vote. Some of Hariri’s supporters have also shifted their allegiance after the billionaire businessman, who also holds Saudi citizenship, laid off scores of employees in his development company because of Saudi spending cuts.

Free Patriotic Movement: The group founded by President Michel Aoun — a former anti-Syrian Christian opposition leader — has been a close ally of the Hezbollah militant group since the two political factions signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2006. FPM has the second largest bloc in parliament and has candidates running in different regions. The mostly Maronite Christian party enjoys wide support among many Shiites in Lebanon, who are likely to back the group in areas where they have presence. The FPM is now headed by Aoun’s son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil, who is running for a seat.

Hezbollah: The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrilla group, backed by Iran and Syria, was founded in 1982 as a resistance movement to Israeli occupation of parts of Lebanon, and has since grown into Lebanon’s most potent military and political force. The group runs an extensive network of charities, schools and clinics and enjoys strong support among Shiite Muslims and some Christians for its record of fighting Israel. Its decision to send its fighters to Syria to shore up Bashar Assad’s forces, however, is highly controversial, and may bring a degree of backlash from within the Shiite community. However, it is still expected come out as a winner in these elections, along with its allies. Hezbollah is expected to keep its 12 seats in parliament.

Amal Group: The Shiite political group was founded in the 1970s by Imam Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing in Libya in 1978. The group is a close ally of Hezbollah and is headed by Lebanon’s powerful parliament speaker, Nabih Berri. The 80-year-old Berri has held the post for more than 25 years and runs virtually uncontested. Berri is an ally of the Syrian government and is running in a coalition with the militant Hezbollah and other Syrian-backed parties.

Progressive Socialist Party: The main political party of Lebanon’s Druze community, which makes up about 5 percent of the total population of Lebanon. The group is headed by leading Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, who is stepping aside in Sunday’s election and is backing his eldest son, Taymour, for the seat. The group has several candidates running in coalition with Hariri’s Future Movement, the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces and others.

Lebanese Forces: The right-wing Christian party is the main Christian rival of President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and has been one of the harshest critics of Hezbollah. Led by former Christian warlord Samir Geagea, who spent years in jail after the 1975-1990 civil war ended, the group is expected to win more than the eight seats it currently holds.

Civil Society: A record number of civil society activists, women and independents are running in these elections, hoping to ride a wave of popular discontent over Lebanon’s myriad troubles, including endemic power cuts, a waste management crisis and soaring debt blamed on corrupt politicians. They face the almost impossible task of competing with sectarian warlords, established parties and wealthy politicians, but hope to at least make a dent in the system.

Source:.dailysabah.com