Electoral silence begins for expat vote, low Shiite turnout expected in Gulf

Lebanon entered at midnight the first electoral silence period for expat parliamentary polls, which will be held Friday in the Gulf countries and Iran.

During the silence period, candidates are forbidden from campaigning through media outlets. The period ends after the closure of ballot boxes on Friday evening.

The second round of expat voting will be held Sunday in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australia.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper, those registered for voting in the Gulf and Asia represent 25.29% of the total number of expats registered across the world. With their total number standing at 56,939 voters, 36.09% of them are Sunni, 23.54% are Maronite, 13.46% are Druze, 9.39% are Greek Orthodox and 9.36% are Shiite.

As for electoral districts, 16.63% of them are registered for Beirut’s second district, 15.73% for Mount Lebanon’s fourth district and 9.85% for the North’s second district.

According to the Interior Ministry, 225,114 expats are registered to vote in the May 6 and May 8 elections outside Lebanon.

Ad-Diyar newspaper meanwhile quoted “highly-informed senior sources” from Hizbullah and the Amal Movement as saying that “the Gulf’s (Lebanese) Shiites did not register at their places of residence in the Gulf countries because they fear persecution.”

They have “real fears,” the sources said, adding that “some of them might be in Lebanon on May 15 to practice their (voting) duty.”

“As for the Shiites of Africa and Europe, efforts are underway to encourage them to perform their duty and partisan delegations have traveled to them for this purpose,” the sources added.