Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday lauded “the role of the government, the concerned ministers and the employees of embassies and diplomatic missions for the proper management” of expat parliamentary polls, which got underway in the morning in dozens of countries.

“We have seen the Lebanese women and men heading to polling stations with pain, anger and hope showing on their faces,” al-Rahi added in his Sunday Mass sermon.

Supporters of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement on Sunday turned out heavily in Lebanon’s expat parliamentary elections in Germany.

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reassured Sunday that “polling stations in Dubai will not be closed before all Lebanese present in the consulate cast their votes,” amid scenes of long queues of voters who lined up in scorching heat.

President Michel Aoun on Sunday visited the Foreign Ministry to inspect its monitoring of the second round of expat parliamentary elections that got underway in the morning in 48 countries.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati visited the Foreign Ministry Friday afternoon to inspect its administration of the expat voting process in the Arab countries and Iran which had kicked off in the morning.

“I was pleased with this tour in which I examined the electoral process and looked into all statistics,” Miqati said after the tour.

The monitors of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) on Friday objected against a video call between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and LF delegates in KSA that was blasted through a loudspeaker, calling it a breach of electoral silence, al-Jadeed TV reported.

“May God give you strength and may you stay this energetic, because we need every minute of work by you until the end of the day,” Geagea is heard telling the delegates in the call, likely outside a polling station in Saudi Arabia.

The deputy head of Hizbullah’s Executive Council, Sheikh Ali Daamoush, announced Friday that the electoral battle is between two projects – one that “has an economic and financial vision and is looking forward to rescue the country,” and another that is “imported from abroad and whose main slogan is besieging the resistance and disarming it.”

The rival project is “the project of America’s people in Lebanon,” Daamoush added.

The Presidency denied Friday the presence of a link between the parliamentary elections and President Michel Aoun’s latest remarks on Syrian refugees.

“The media reports published today about the presence of a link between President Michel Aoun’s tackling of the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the file of parliamentary elections are baseless,” the Presidency said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Friday expressed his relief over the expat voting process that kicked off in the morning in the Arab countries and Iran as part of Lebanon’s 2022 parliamentary elections.

“My heart warmed when I saw this scene and I hope voter turnout will reach 70%,” Bou Habib said from the Foreign Ministry.

Last week, the British Embassy in Beirut hosted a climate action workshop for 16 youth innovators in collaboration with the idea innovator company, Ideanco. The UK’s COP26 MENA Ambassador Janet Rogan attended virtually from London and the British Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires, Alyson King, gave closing remarks, the British Embassy said on Friday.

"Tackling climate change is a priority for the UK government, which hosted the COP26 conference in Glasgow last year. COP26 brought countries together to enable all countries to meet global net zero targets and reduce the impacts of climate change, resulting in the Glasgow Climate Pact. To achieve this countries must unlock public and private investment and push for innovative and green solutions," the British Embassy added.