Lebanon's electoral districts *Lebanon's parliament has 128 seats. They are divided according to a strict quota between 10 of the country's 18 religious communities, with one seat reserved for minorities.
*Half the seats are allotted to Christian denominations and the other half to four Muslim sects: Sunnis, Shiites, Druze and Alawites.
*The seats are divided among 26 electoral districts.
*The number of Christian or Muslim seats allotted to each district reflects its population and sectarian make-up. Some districts, such as Tyre in the south, are exclusively Muslim. Others, such as Metn north of Beirut, are exclusively Christian.
*Within each district, politicians from the various sects form electoral lists. A list can include candidates for all or some of the available seats.
*The rival "March 14" and "March 8" alliances are fielding opposing lists in most electoral districts. Independents are also running, some on March 14 lists.
*Voters must cast their ballot in their electoral district. They can cast one vote for each seat in their district.
*Around 3.26 million Lebanese are eligible to vote, though hundreds of thousands live and work abroad and will not be able to vote unless they come to Lebanon on Election Day.
*Muslims make up 60.4 percent of voters and Christians 39 percent. Sunnis have the largest number of registered voters with 27.2 percent, followed by Shiites with 26.7 percent and Maronite Christians with 20.9 percent, according to the Interior Ministry voter list.
*Once parliament is formed, it must elect a Shiite speaker. The post is likely to go once again to Nabih Berri. Leader of the pro-Syrian Amal Movement, Berri is a close ally of Shiite Hezbollah and has been speaker since 1992.
*The lawmakers also select a new prime minister, a job reserved for a Sunni, and inform the Maronite president of their choice. The president is obliged to appoint the figure with the greatest support in parliament.
*The prime minister then forms a new government. Sectarian considerations govern the four top cabinet appointments. The interior, defense, finance and foreign ministries are divided between a Maronite, a Greek Orthodox, a Shiite and a Sunni.
*Parliament's other main task is to elect the Maronite head of state. But with President Michel Suleiman's six-year term set to expire in 2014 that is not on the next parliament's agenda. |
