TEHRAN -- With a population of 3.97 million, Lebanon is located in western Asia bordering Syria in the north and the east and Israel in the south.

Muslims make up at least sixty percent of the population. The rest are Christians. There are 18 religious sects. Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims make up a third of the population each. About 400,000 Palestinian refugees also live in Lebanon
Elections are held every four years for the 128-seat parliament. In the 2005 elections the March 14th Alliance gained 71 seats while the opposition won 57.
The constitution divides the country into 26 constituencies and allows candidates to compete only with the same sect, e.g. Shias can only compete with Shias.
The system allocates 64 seats to Sunni and Shia Muslims, Druze and Alawite, while the other half of the seats are allotted to Marotine Christians, Greek Orthodox and Catholics (along with minor Christian sects).
In today’s election there are 580 candidates and the major contenders are:
The ruling Western backed Sunni majority also called the March 14 Alliance has 71 seats. It includes the Sunni Mustaqbal (headed by Saad Hariri), Christian Lebanese Forces (headed by Samir Geagea), Druze Progressive Socialist Party (headed by Walid Jumblat and the Phalange Party (headed by Christian President Amin Gemayel).
The opposition is headed by Hezbollah and is also referred to as March 8 Alliance. With 57 seats, this bloc is composed of the Shia Hezbollah (headed by Hassan Nasrallah), Amal (headed by the Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berriand), the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (headed by MP Michel Aoun) and Christian Marada in northern Lebanon (headed by Soleiman Franjieh). The Hezbollah bloc is backed by Iran and Syria.
The Shia Muslims are concentrated in southern Lebanon but have a significant voting power in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Badba districts and Beirut’s second district and the city of Jbeil.
The Sunni Muslims are concentrated in Beirut’s 3rd District and Northern Lebanon with significant voting power in Shouf Mountains. Druze party is popular in Shouf and Aley districts of the Lebanese mountain while the Christian are populated in Meten, Keserwan and Jbeil districts along with Beirut First District.
The upcoming new parliament will elect a new prime minister and parliament speaker. However, the President Gemayel, who was elected in May 2008, will have to finish his six-year term.
------------------------Brief History
Lebanon was declared an independent republic by occupying British and French forces. However, the French retained control and full independence did not come until January 1, 1944.
Under a National Covenant of 1943 political power in the Lebanese parliament was apportioned among the nation’s various communities. The presidency is reserved for Maronite Christians, the speaker of parliament is always a Shia Muslim, and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim.
Years from WWII to the early 70s were a brief golden age for Lebanon. Beirut developed as Middle East’s banking and trade center, while agriculture and small scale industry flourished in the rest of the country.
The country was engulfed in a bloody civil war between 1975 to 1990. Israel invaded Lebanon on June 6, 1982, in an attempt to drive out the PLO. Hezbollah first emerged as a militia in response to resistance to the Israeli invasion in 1982.
In June, 2006 the law to reform elections was first published, but parliamentary debate on the draft was derailed by the war between Israel and Hezbollah in July of the same year. The draft law encompasses eight major changes to the electoral law. Proposed changes include a 30% quota for women representatives, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, establishing an independent oversight body, and changing the electoral system so that 51 seats are distributed through proportional representation and 77 seats would be chosen by a simple majority vote.
Today Hezbollah has grown as an organization with a radio and satellite television stations, and programs for social developments. In 2006 Israel launched another major military assault against Hezbollah which resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure.
Hezbollah gained support from Lebanon’s broader population (Sunni, Christian, Druze) immediately following the 2006 Lebanon war, in which the invading Israeli forces were defeated effectively.
Today, the resistance movement is a major provider of social services, which operates schools, hospitals and agricultural services for thousands of Lebanese. The Hezbollah alliance is widely expected to win a majority in the Lebanese parliament in today’s election.-