2009 Lebanese general election explained

Election Name:	2009 Lebanese general election
Country:	Lebanon
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2005 Lebanese general election
Previous Year:	2005
Outgoing Members:	Members of the 2005–2009 Lebanese Parliament
Elected Members:	List of members of the 2009–2017 Lebanese Parliament
Next Election:	2018 Lebanese general election
Next Year:	2018
Seats For Election:	All 128 seats to the Parliament of Lebanon
Election Date:	7 June 2009
Map Size:	300px
Turnout:	55.2% 8.7%
Colour1:	3682D8
Leader1:	Saad Hariri
Alliance1:	March 14
Leaders Seat1:	Beirut III
Last Election1:	36 seats
Seats1:	33
Seat Change1:	3
Colour2:	ED9121
Leader2:	Michel Aoun
Alliance2:	March 8
Party2:	FPM
Leaders Seat2:	Keserwan
Last Election2:	15 seats
Seats2:	19
Seat Change2:	4
Colour3:	008000
Leader3:	Nabih Berri
Alliance3:	March 8
Party3:	Amal Movement
Leaders Seat3:	Zahrani
Last Election3:	14 seats
Seats3:	14
Seat Change3:	0
Colour4:	F7DF19
Alliance4:	March 8
Party4:	Hezbollah
Leaders Seat4:	None
Last Election4:	14 seats
Seats4:	13
Seat Change4:	1
Colour6:	F0001C
Leader6:	Samir Geagea
Alliance6:	March 14
Party6:	Lebanese Forces
Leaders Seat6:	None
Last Election6:	6 seats
Seats6:	8
Seat Change6:	2
Colour5:	CC050F
Leader5:	Walid Jumblatt
Alliance Name:	no
Alliance5:	None
Party5:	PSP
Leaders Seat5:	Chouf
Last Election5:	16 seats
Seats5:	11
Seat Change5:	5
Colour7:	138808
Leader7:	Amine Gemayel
Alliance7:	March 14
Party7:	Kataeb
Leaders Seat7:	None
Last Election7:	3 seats
Seats7:	5
Seat Change7:	2
Colour8:	ADFF2F
Alliance8:	March 8
Leaders Seat8:	Zgharta
Last Election8:	0 seats
Seats8:	3
Seat Change8:	3
Prime Minister
Before Election:	Fouad Siniora
Before Party:	March 14
After Election:	Saad Hariri
After Party:	March 14
Colour9:	aa0000
Party9:	Tashnag
Leaders Seat9:	Metn
Leader9:	Hagop Pakradounian
Alliance9:	March 8
Seats9:	2
Last Election9:	2 seats
Seat Change9:	0

Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon on 7 June 2009^{[1] [2]} to elect all 128 members of the Parliament of Lebanon.

Background

Before the election, the voting age was to be lowered from 21 to 18 years, 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 in 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]

Seat allocationaccording to The Doha Agreement^[6]		Seats	Maronite	Shia	Sunni	Greek Orthodox	Druze	Armenian Orthodox	Greek Catholic	Alawite	Evangelical	Minorities	14 March	8 March
Beirut 19	Beirut 1	5	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	5	0
Beirut 2	4	align="right"	-	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	2
Beirut 3	10	align="right"	-	1	5	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	1	10	0
Bekaa 23	Baalbek +Hermel	10	1	6	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	10
Zahleh	7	1	1	1	1	align="right"	-	1	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	7	0
Rashaya +West Bekaa	6	1	1	2	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	6	0
Mount Lebanon 35	Jbeil	3	2	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Kisrawan	5	5	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	5
North Metn	8	4	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	6
Baabda	6	3	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	6
Aley	5	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	4	1
Chouf	8	3	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	8	0
North Lebanon 28	Akkar	7	1	align="right"	-	3	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	7	0
Dinniyeh +Minieh	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	3	0
Bsharreh	2	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	0
Tripoli	8	1	align="right"	-	5	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	8	0
Zgharta	3	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Koura	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	3	0
Batroun	2	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	0
South Lebanon 23	Saida	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	2	0
Tyre	4	align="right"	-	4	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	4
Zahrani	3	align="right"	-	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Hasbaya +Marjeyoun	5	align="right"	-	2	1	1	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	5
Nabatiyeh	3	align="right"	-	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Bint Jbeil	3	align="right"	-	3	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Jezzine	3	2	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	1	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	align="right"	-	0	3
Total 128	128	34	27	27	14	8	5	8	2	1	2	71	57

Results

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	28.6%	0	71.4%	3
Kisrawan	5	30.9%	0	69.1%	5
North Metn	8	42.4%	2	58.6%	6
Baabda	6	41.8%	0	58.2%	6
Aley	5	60.2%	4	39.8%	1
Chouf	8	69.6%	8	30.4%	0
North Lebanon 28	Akkar	7	61.1%	7	38.9%	0
Dinniyeh +Minnieh	3	70.9%	3	29.1%	0
Bsharreh	2	71.4%	2	28.6%	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
Batroun	2	50.2%	2	49.8%	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	55.5%	71	44.5%	57

By party after the designation of Najib Mikati in January 2011

|-! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;" |Alliances! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Seats! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;" |Parties! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Seats|-|style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" rowspan=15 |Government
68|style="background-color:orange;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;" rowspan=6 |27|style="background-color:orange;text-align:left;" colspan=2 |Change and Reform bloc|-| style="text-align:left;" | Free Patriotic Movement (Tayyar Al-Watani Al-Horr)| style="text-align:right;" |19|-| style="text-align:left;" | Lebanese Democratic Party (Hizb al-democraty al-lubnany)| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Marada Movement| style="text-align:right;" |3|-| style="text-align:left;" | Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag)| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Solidarity Party (Hizb Al-Tadamon Al-Lubnany)| style="text-align:right;" |1|-|style="background-color:yellow;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;" rowspan=5 |30|style="background-color:yellow;text-align:left;" colspan=2 |March 8 Alliance|-| style="text-align:left;" | Amal Movement (Harakat Amal)| style="text-align:right;" |13|-| style="text-align:left;" | Loyalty to the Resistance (Hezbollah)| style="text-align:right;" |13|-| style="text-align:left;" | Syrian Social Nationalist Party (al-Hizb al-Qawmi al-souri al ijtima'i)| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party| style="text-align:right;" |2|-|style="background-color:lightgrey;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;" rowspan=4 |11|style="background-color:lightgrey;text-align:left;" colspan=2 |Pro-Government Independents|-| style="text-align:left;" | Progressive Socialist Party| style="text-align:right;" |7|-| style="text-align:left;" | Glory Movement| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Safadi Bloc| style="text-align:right;" |2|-|style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" rowspan=11 |Opposition
60|style="background-color:#5bb9ee;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;" rowspan=11 |60|style="background-color:#5bb9ee;text-align:left;" colspan=2 |March 14 Alliance|-| style="text-align:left;" | Future Movement (Tayyar Al Mustaqbal)| style="text-align:right;" |29|-| style="text-align:left;" | Lebanese Forces (al-Quwāt al-Lubnāniyya)| style="text-align:right;" |8|-| style="text-align:left;" | Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb)| style="text-align:right;" |5|-| style="text-align:left;" | Murr Bloc| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Social Democrat Hunchakian Party)| style="text-align:right;" |2|-| style="text-align:left;" | Islamic Group (Jamaa al-Islamiya)| style="text-align:right;" |1|-| style="text-align:left;" | Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar Party)| style="text-align:right;" |1|-| style="text-align:left;" | Democratic Left Movement (ĥarakatu-l-yasāri-d-dimuqrātī)| style="text-align:right;" |1|-| style="text-align:left;" | National Liberal Party (Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār)| style="text-align:right;" |1|-| style="text-align:left;" | Independents (including ex-PSP)| style="text-align:right;" |10|-|  –|  –! style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6"|Total! style="text-align:right;" |128|-|}Source

Formation of government

See main article: Lebanese government of November 2009 and Lebanese government of June 2011. 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 formed a new government in the ensuing six months.

See also

• 2005 Lebanese general election

External links

• Official Site
• Foreign Money Seeks to Buy Lebanese Votes, Robert Worth, April 22, 2009, The New York Times
• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lebanon's ruling coalition urges lawmakers to ban presidential election – People's Daily Online.
2. Web site: Lebanese Interior Ministry sets June 7 for Parliamentary elections – People's Daily Online.
3. News: Lebanon voting age lowered by MPs . BBC News . 2009-03-19 . 2010-05-07.
4. News: Lebanon rivals agree crisis deal . BBC News . 2008-05-21 . 2010-05-07.
5. News: Lebanon approves new election law . BBC News . 2008-09-30 . 2010-05-07.
6. Web site: Blogger. accounts.google.com.
7. News: Slackman . Michael . Pro-Western Bloc Defeats Hezbollah in Lebanon Vote . NYT . 7 June 2009 . 7 June 2009.
8. News: U.S.-Backed Alliance Wins Election in Lebanon . . Michael . Slackman . 2009-06-09 . 2010-05-07.
9. News: March 14 bloc wins Lebanon election . Al Jazeera English.
10. Web site: Elections 09 – Lebanon Elections 2009 . 2010-06-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100625143740/http://www.elections.gov.lb/Parliamentary/ . 2010-06-25 . dead .
11. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Lebanon's New Government. 9 November 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110616213356/http://www.ifes.org/publication/38e87b372599cdff387c76fd022fb123/Lebanons_new_government.pdf. 16 June 2011.
12. News: Impasse Over, Lebanon Forms Cabinet . The New York Times . Robert F. . Worth . 2009-11-10 . 2010-05-07.
13. Web site: Breaking News, World News and Video from al Jazeera.