2009 Lebanese general election

2009 Lebanese general election

7 June 2009
All 128 seats in the Parliament of Lebanon
Turnout	55.2% 8.7%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Saad Hariri Michel Aoun Nabih Berri Party Future Movement FPM Amal Movement Alliance March 14 March 8 March 8 Leader's seat Beirut III Keserwan Zahrani Last election 36 seats 15 seats 14 seats Seats won 33 19 14 Seat change 3 4 0   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Hassan Nasrallah Walid Jumblatt Samir Geagea Party Hezbollah PSP Lebanese Forces Alliance March 8 None March 14 Leader's seat None Chouf None Last election 14 seats 16 seats 6 seats Seats won 13 11 8 Seat change 1 5 2   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Amine Gemayel Sleiman Frangieh Hagop Pakradounian Party Kataeb Marada Movement Tashnag Alliance March 14 March 8 March 8 Leader's seat None Zgharta Metn Last election 3 seats 0 seats 2 seats Seats won 5 3 2 Seat change 2 3 0
Areas with a March 14 majority in blue, areas with a March 8 majority in orange
Prime Minister before election Fouad Siniora March 14 Elected Prime Minister Saad Hariri March 14

Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon on 7 June 2009 to elect all 128 members of the Parliament of Lebanon. Although general elections are held every four years, this parliament due to various reasons stayed in power until the 2018 general election.

Background

The 2009 election was the first general election in Lebanon to be done in one day. Usually, the election used to be divided into four rounds across four weeks, with each round being held in different regions across Lebanon. 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.

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. It was passed on 29 September 2008.

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

Results

Logo of the Lebanese general election, 2009

Preliminary results indicated that the turnout had been as high as 55%. 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. Many observers expect to see the emergence of a National Unity Government similar to that created following the Doha Agreement in 2008.

Election Results for each alliance		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

Formation of government

Main articles: 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. 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.

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.

The March 8 alliance formed a new government in the ensuing six months, at which point the seats in parliament were divided as follows.

Parliament composition in june 2011 Lebanese Parliament election results

Alliances	Seats	Parties	Seats
Government 68	27	Change and Reform bloc
		Free Patriotic Movement (Tayyar Al-Watani Al-Horr)	19
		Lebanese Democratic Party (Hizb al-democraty al-lubnany)	2
		Marada Movement	3
		Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag)	2
		Solidarity Party (Hizb Al-Tadamon Al-Lubnany)	1
	30	March 8 Alliance
		Amal Movement (Harakat Amal)	13
		Loyalty to the Resistance (Hezbollah)	13
		Syrian Social Nationalist Party (al-Hizb al-Qawmi al-souri al ijtima'i)	2
		Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party	2
	11	Pro-Government Independents
		Progressive Socialist Party	7
		Glory Movement	2
		Safadi Bloc	2
Opposition 60	60	March 14 Alliance
		Future Movement (Tayyar Al Mustaqbal)	29
		Lebanese Forces (al-Quwāt al-Lubnāniyya)	8
		Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb)	5
		Murr Bloc	2
		Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Social Democrat Hunchakian Party)	2
		Islamic Group (Jamaa al-Islamiya)	1
		Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar Party)	1
		Democratic Left Movement (ĥarakatu-l-yasāri-d-dimuqrātī)	1
		National Liberal Party (Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār)	1
		Independents (including ex-PSP)	10
–	–	Total	128

Source

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