Polls open in Lebanon's first general election in 9yrs

Polling booths opened in Lebanon today for the country's first parliamentary election in nine years, a period marked by stretches of political paralysis and war in neighbouring Syria.

Voting is scheduled to last from 7:00am (0400 GMT) until 7:00pm (1600 GMT), with unofficial results expected to start coming in overnight and a formal tally announced in the coming days.

Whatever the result, a new coalition government including most of the major parties is likely to be formed after the election, analysts have said.

Getting a new government in place quickly would reassure investors of Lebanon's economic stability after donors pledged $11 billion in soft loans for a capital investment programme last month, in return for fiscal and other reforms.

Lebanese are closely watching the performance of Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's Future Movement party and that of the Iran-backed, Shi'ite Hezbollah group and its allies.

Despite some acts of violence and intimidation connected to the election in recent weeks, no major incidents were reported in the immediate run-up to voting.