Saad Hariri’s Beirut supporters boycott election with pool party

Former prime minister is not standing and has put no Future Movement candidates forward as he calls on supporters not to take part in Sunday's election

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As Lebanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday, supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri instead gathered for a pool party in Beirut’s streets.

The Sunni leader announced this year that he would not contest the election or put forward any Future Movement candidates for Parliament and called on his supporters to follow by boycotting the vote.

In Beirut’s Sunni stronghold of Tareeq Al Jadideh, the roads shut down and a large yellow inflatable pool was set up. Adults and children splashed in the water while residents sat and watched.

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  Beirut children play in an inflatable swimming pool set up by supporters of former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri, who have boycotted the country's elections. AFP

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  Mr Hariri, seen in poster, suspended his participation in Lebanese politics last year and called on his supporters to boycott Sunday’s vote. AP

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  Supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri set up an inflatable swimming pool in the Tarik El Jdideh neighborhood of Beirut, as they boycott Lebanon's elections. Getty

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  Beirut children swim in an inflatable pool that supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri set up to illustrate their intention to boycott parliamentary elections. AP

“We are abiding by the boycott,” said Hariri supporter Mohamed Berjawi. “We are his family. Although I am older than him, I consider him like my father [and] my father told me to boycott … Who am I going to vote for, with my respect to all … I belong to Future Movement and the Future Movement is not taking part in the vote, which means we are boycotting.”

Rabih El Omari told local newspaper L'Orient Today that “because we feel it is the same result whether we vote or not”.

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  An electoral worker sits next to ballot boxes, at the Justice Palace, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  A soldier stands guard as ballots are counted at the Justice Palace. Reuters

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  Jad Ghosn, an opposition candidate, gestures as people wait for the announcement of official election results, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announces the final results for some districts. EPA

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  Opposition candidate Yassin Yassin gestures as he is greeted by supporters in Jeb Jennin, West Bekaa. Reuters

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  Supporters of the Lebanese Forces take to the streets during parliamentary elections in the Ashrafieh district of Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanon headed to the polls with its economy in the grip of hyperinflation. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese youths supporting Hezbollah and Amal movement wave their party flags after parliamentary elections in a suburb of Beirut. EPA

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  Supporters of Lebanon's Shiite groups Hezbollah and Amal lift their flags during a motorbike rally after voting. AFP

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  Children swim in an inflatable pool that supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri installed to illustrate their intention to boycott parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo

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  Voters queue to place their vote in parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

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  Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, stands in a polling booth to vote in Tebnin. Reuters

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  Voters register at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese President Michel Aoun follows the parliamentary elections on screens from the Presidential Palace in Beirut. AP

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  A Lebanese woman shows her inked finger after she cast her vote at a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  Voters look at a list of candidates at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese policemen help a voter into a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  A Lebanese voter casts her ballot paper in Beirut. EPA

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  Gyorgy Holvenyi (R), chief observer of the European Union election observation mission, visits a polling station in Beirut. EPA

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  Lebanese people wait to vote during parliamentary elections in the capital city. EPA

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  Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Grand Mufti of Lebanon, casts his ballot paper during parliamentary elections in Beirut. EPA

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  People queue to cast their votes in the Lebanese capital. AP

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  Posters in Al Tariq Al Jadida, Beirut, depict Lebanon’s former prime minister Saad Hariri. Reuters

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  A woman prepares her ballot at a polling station in a southern suburb of Beirut. AFP

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  Former prime minister Hassan Diab, who succeeded Saad Hariri, casts his ballot in Beirut. AFP

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  A voter checks lists for the parliamentary election at a polling station in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP

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  A woman waits to vote in Beirut. EPA

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  Security forces stand guard at Nur Square on the southern entrance of the northern Lebanese port city Tripoli. AFP

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  Former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election, in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Reuters

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  A man check voters' lists in the capital Beirut. AP

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  A woman votes in Lebanon's parliamentary elections in Beirut. AP

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  Police check the ID of voters outside a polling station near the Lebanese coastal city of Byblos (Jbeil), north of Beirut. AFP

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  A voter dips her finger in ink after casting her ballot in the parliamentary election at a polling station near Byblos. AFP

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  A Lebanese woman shows her ink-marked thumb after voting in Shmustar, Bekaa valley. EPA

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  People queueing to vote at Ras El Nabeh Public School for Girls. Fatima Al Mahmoud/ The National

He said it was clear who was running the country in an apparent reference to Hezbollah and its allies and they wanted to discredit the process by ensuring “a low turnout within the Sunni sect”.

“The pool is to show that it is not an election day for us,” he told the paper.

Some said the boycott may help Hezbollah’s Sunni allies to win more seats, but those supporters of the Future Movement on the streets of Beirut on Sunday were undeterred.

And they are not alone in turning away from the democratic process.

Nationwide turnout in the election was low, with only about 32 per cent of registered voters casting their ballots by 5pm, according to the Interior Ministry. The 2018 turnout was 48 per cent.