Kurds in Lebanon once again lack representation in elections

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Kurds in Lebanon headed to the polls on Sunday, blaming Kurdish disunity for their lack of representation in the Lebanese parliament, despite an estimated 70,000 of the community members living in the country.

No Kurds were among the 1,043 candidates vying for the 128 seats up for grabs in the Lebanon’s parliament. 

A final result is yet to be announced as the vote count is ongoing, but preliminary results suggest that Iran-backed Hezbollah which won a majority of 71 seats in the 2018 elections is said to have been dealt a blow this time around. 

According to provisional turnout figures, 41 percent of Lebanon's 3.9 million registered voters cast a ballot Sunday in 12 hours of polling that saw several irregularities and minor incidents, AFP reported.

A number of independent candidates hoped to bring about the change that the 2019 revolution failed to produce. Preliminary results from the election indicate that the status quo may likely be preserved, and the 128 seats are expected to remain with those who widely blamed for economic collapse, plunging most of the country into poverty. 

"The main reason behind the absence of Kurds in the [Lebanon] parliament is that Kurds have not paid much attention to politics in this country," Jamal Amirat, a Kurd living in Beirut told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri before casting his ballot.

"There have been only some timid efforts [by Kurds to involve themselves in politics]. Kurds have just started efforts to become involved in politics. In the past, they were more interested in doing business than politics. Wrong politics and war have contributed to the destruction of the country. There is not a political party or side to put Kurds in order and make them have a single discourse."

Kurds living in Beirut can trace their history back more than 800 years to Salahaddin Ayoubi, the infamous Kurd who led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusaders, but they remain among the poorest, most marginalized people in the country.

Luqman Maho, head of the Lebanese-Kurdish Group for Social Service believes that the lack of a Kurdish candidate could explain the low Kurdish turnout in the vote.
 
"I believe that only 20 percent of Kurds may vote," Maho said.  

Kurds are officially classed as Sunni Lebanese, limiting their ability to enter politics as Kurds.

Many Kurds live in neighborhoods badly damaged in the 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which destroyed more than half of the city and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Lebanon has an estimated population of just over 6 million.

The country's May 15 elections are the first since the country announced its bankruptcy in April and the devastating port explosion in 2020 which shook the capital city, dealing a huge blow to the country's economy.

There are 128 seats in the Lebanese House of Representatives up for grabs, out of which half are for Muslims and the other half for Christians.