Beirut: «Al-Khaleej» – Agencies
Yesterday, Sunday, Lebanon completed the second phase of voting by Lebanese expatriates in 48 countries, which included the continents of Europe, America, Australia, Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Pakistan, after it completed, last Friday, the first phase, which included a number of Arab countries and Iran, at a time heading towards Attention is drawn to next Sunday, when the internal elections will be held in light of an extraordinary political, security and military alert, while Pope Francis postponed his visit to Lebanon, which was scheduled to take place next June, for health reasons, in conjunction with the announcement of the approval of the World Bank to An emergency loan to support wheat imports worth $150 million.
The general turnout in the second stage was about 60 percent, as confirmed by the Director of Expatriates in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hadi Hashem, who said that “our goal in the ministry was to reach a voter turnout of more than 70 percent, and we hope that the expatriates will participate more intensively next time,” noting He added, “This electoral process is the largest in Lebanon’s modern history.” He stressed that “the preliminary figures indicate a turnout rate of about 60% worldwide, which is a good percentage, as between 128 and 130 thousand voters out of 225 thousand registered in the voting process abroad,” pointing out that “the violations and impurities witnessed in the process.” Electoral elections in expatriation were dealt with immediately, and we are awaiting the receipt of the minutes that will be referred to the judges as they decide whether to count the votes or not.
The Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi, considered that the heavy turnout by the Lebanese expatriates, means that there is an intention to participate in building a new Lebanon that will rise from its crisis, noting during a press conference to announce a new technology for sorting that adopts electronic techniques that are used for the first time, that “the security of Citizens are essential and preserved, and we are working with all security agencies to implement a security plan in all regions, particularly on election day.” Mawlawi called on judges and poll chiefs not to hesitate to be present on polling day, and stressed that compensation for employees and poll chiefs would be decent and cash.
On the other hand, Tourism Minister Walid Nassar, who is the head of the ministerial committee to prepare for the Pope’s visit, denied that Pope Francis had canceled his visit to Lebanon. The new date of the visit will be announced as soon as it is determined. Nassar pointed out that foreign visits and scheduled appointments in the Pope’s program have been postponed for health reasons, wishing him a speedy recovery.
On the other hand, Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam said: “Lebanon has received the final approval from the World Bank for an emergency loan to support wheat imports, worth $150 million.” He explained that “Lebanon is the first country to obtain such an emergency loan, to confront the food crisis resulting from the global geopolitical and economic crisis.” He stressed that “after the approval of the World Bank, we will pass the loan agreement to the government, hoping for its approval before the parliamentary elections that will take place, next Sunday, on May 15, provided that the new parliament will ratify it immediately after the elections.”