The first round of Lebanon’s municipal and mayoral elections was held in Mount Lebanon province.
Voting began on Sunday at 7 am local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 7 pm (1600 GMT).
According to the state news agency NNA, voter turnout ranged between 11 percent and 30 percent in the first five hours of voting in various areas across the province.
Local media expect a higher voter turnout in the afternoon.
NNA said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited the Interior Ministry headquarters to oversee the voting process and pledged safe and transparent polls.
“Elections are an opportunity for the citizens,” Aoun said.
“Our mission is to ensure security and the safety of the electoral process, and to monitor it throughout the day,” he added.
Aoun was elected in January, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a government the following month, ending a more than two-year vacuum as Lebanon's balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Sunday’s municipal vote is the first in almost a decade in the war-torn country.
President Joseph Aoun, new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam sign decree forming new government.
Conflict between borders
Last year, the municipal elections were postponed for the third time since 2016, due to Israeli assaults on Lebanon.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.
Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of nearly 200 people and the injuries of around 500 others.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to February 18 after Israel refused to comply.
It still maintains a military occupation at five border outposts.
After 16 months of war, southern Lebanese return to shattered homes, lost loved ones, and a land still haunted by Israeli occupation and destruction, yet their defiance endures.
