Nearly half of registered voters took part in Lebanon’s 2022 election

The country’s Ministry of Interior has revised its preliminary voter turnout figures upwards from 41%.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Voters register at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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

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

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

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

A Lebanese voter casts her ballot paper in Beirut. EPA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A woman waits to vote in Beirut. EPA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lebanon’s Interior Ministry has updated voter turnout figures for the nationwide parliamentary elections that took place last week.

Voter turnout has been revised to 49.68 per cent, up from the initial turnout calculated at a 41 per cent, despite high expectations for the long-anticipated parliamentary elections.

This places voter participation for the parliamentary elections on the same level as that in 2018.

The gap in turnout calculation stemmed from a more careful post-election examination of voter records by polling stations in every district, an Interior Ministry representative told The National.

She said the amendment did not change any overall election result.

The new turnout figure of 49.68 per cent also reflects the Lebanese diaspora voters, the Interior Ministry said.

About 60 per cent of registered Lebanese people living abroad took part in the elections, many of them expressing a wish to remove traditional political figures.

This year’s elections were highly anticipated by many Lebanese and seen as an opportunity to reform the entrenched political system that has been in place since the Nineties, after the end of the country’s 15-year civil war.

They followed a severe nationwide economic collapse that the World Bank says is one of the worst in the modern world and which left about 80 per cent of Lebanon’s population impoverished, according to the UN.

A nationwide protest movement erupted in 2019 which called for the removal of Lebanon’s political elite. Many from within the protest movement had called for early elections, which did not materialise. In August 2020, a massive explosion ripped through Beirut’s port and nearby residential areas, killing more than 200 people.

Many in Lebanon were further incensed when evidence emerged that many of Lebanon’s political elite – including the President and Prime Minister – had prior knowledge of the thousands of tonnes of explosive material stored within the port.

The difficulties Lebanon has endured in the past few years led many to expect a higher voter turnout for the 2022 parliamentary elections.