Lebanon holds first vote since blast, financial collapse

Election officials carry ballot boxes and election material to be distributed to polling centres, ahead of the parliamentary election, in Beirut, Lebanon May 14, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese vote on Sunday in the first election since their country's economic collapse, a test of whether Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies can preserve their parliamentary majority amid soaring poverty and anger at ruling parties.

Following months of uncertainty over whether the election would go ahead, polls will open at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) across 15 electoral districts. Nationals over the age of 21 vote in their ancestral towns and villages, sometimes far from home.