On May 6 and 8, the diaspora will vote in their country of residency in Lebanon’s 2022 parliamentary elections, marking the first electoral test at the national level since huge protests in October 2019 and the infamous 2020 Beirut Port explosion.

Many Lebanese expats in the United Arab Emirates are eager to vote on Friday and Sunday, hoping to make a difference in the country’s worsening economic crisis, disappearing middle class, and a history of sectarian government rule characterized by elites who have pushed the majority of the population into extreme poverty.

A lot of hope is riding on the Lebanese diaspora to cast their votes and make a difference in this year’s election. Al Arabiya English spoke to some Lebanese expats in the UAE who are gearing up for the voting day.

Politics a ‘taboo subject’ in Lebanon

Lebanese expat Mark El Khoury, 27, was born and raised in the UAE and spent his university days in Lebanon where he was exposed to the political opinions of the people around him.

“To be fair, I think it’s about time to vote. Something I learned throughout my time [as a student] in Lebanon was that politics has become such a taboo topic, because no one wants to talk about it,” El Khoury told Al Arabiya English. “The fact is that you have to talk about it, because there is something fundamentally wrong.”

Coming from an expat background, he said had a lot to learn when he moved to Lebanon.

“I really want to make a difference, which is why I have to vote and why I believe everyone should because it’s time politics ceases to be a taboo subject and for people to learn that politicians are supposed to work for you; you don’t work for them,” he said.

According to El Khoury, people in Lebanon “don’t follow an ideology, they follow a person,” adding that this was one of the root causes of the nation’s political issues.

“Religion and politics should never mix, in my opinion. Religion is a way of life, it’s a belief. Nowhere in any religion does it say: you should be in charge of the government,” he continued.

Lebanese activists all over the world have ramped up efforts in recent months to encourage more people from the global diaspora to vote. Over 220,000 (six percent) Lebanese people from the diaspora have registered to vote, accounting for a three-fold increase in voters from the previous parliamentary elections in 2018 – when out-of-country voting was allowed for the first time.

Lebanese politics – often a sensitive topic for both the diaspora and the country’s residents alike – has long been influenced by religion. Sectarianism has been the basis of Lebanon’s political ecosystem since the French set it up before departing the country in 1936. The system was, in theory, supposed to ensure the influence of all 18 recognized religious groups, some of which now have their own militias, in the government, dividing all public service roles equally amongst them.

However, the quasi-federal religious government, coupled with the 1960s Civil War and incessant nepotism within political parties, has kept Lebanese society deeply divided, causing sectarianism to rule over nationalism and for endemic corruption to continue.

Echoing El Khoury’s sentiment, Lebanese expat Omar, 34, believes religion and politics should be separated.

“I believe in a Laic country… in a country where power is to the people by their competencies, not by their religion or because they belong to a certain religious group or party,” he told Al Arabiya English.

“I’d rather have people rule the country because they deserve it… Somebody who has achievements, comes from a diplomacy background, is not really affiliated with a certain party. Somebody who is kind of neutral, who is taking action, and not just talking about plans,” he continued, adding that he was vouching for an independent candidate from the civil society.

Omar did not vote in 2018, during the last elections, but chose to take part this time because he is hoping to “at least contribute to a shift in the weight of the voices and votes” in parliament.

Shifting away from traditional political parties

Released earlier this week, the Arab Reform Initiative report which examined the 2018 voting behavior of the diaspora found that their behavior and political attitudes varied based on where they emigrated to and why. Registered diaspora voters at the time were mainly based in Canada, Australia, the US, UAE, France, and Australia who mainly supported the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement. Voters in Germany and several African countries mainly opted for Shia-majority parties Amal and Hezbollah.

Lebanese expats who voted at the time did not have much of an impact as they only accounted for 3 percent of participants, with less than 6 percent of out-of-country voters choosing candidates on opposition lists. This did not do much to reduce the impact of the long-established sectarian system, according to the joint report by the Arab Reform Initiative and The Policy Initiative.

The scale of the change in voter attitudes to shift away from supporting traditional political parties in the 2022 elections remains uncertain overall, but UAE expats who spoke with Al Arabiya English expressed they were keen to do their part in initiating this shift.

Raed, 34, an expat who works in the aviation industry, said that he moved to the UAE because he was “suffering for years” in Lebanon, and was determined to make a difference with his vote this year. His views changed due to the obstacles he faced in Lebanon, both socially and economically. He said his father used to support one of the country’s traditional political parties, despite their house being bombed during the Civil War, causing injury to his father’s arm.

“I’m voting to make a change. My parents in Lebanon are suffering, they don’t have medical coverage, they don’t know what will happen in their future,” Raed told Al Arabiya English, adding that he no longer supports one of the traditional parties.