Lebanon holds 1st general election in 9 years

Polls have opened in Lebanon's first parliamentary election in nine years, with more than 500 candidates running in 15 districts across the country. It marks the first vote since a revision in the election law last year changed the procedure from a winner-take-all system to proportional representation which awards spots in the 128-seat parliament based on the share of votes received. The main race is between a Western-backed coalition headed by Prime Minister Hariri and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. More than 3.6 million voters are set to cast their ballots at the polls, which will be open until 7pm local time on Sunday.