Middle East

Lebanon holds second round of municipal elections

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A Lebanese woman stands inside a ballot booth before casting her vote at a polling station during the municipal elections in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2016. Lebanon is holding the second round of municipal elections Sunday amid a political deadlock that has paralyzed state institutions at the height of a refugee crisis caused by the war in neighboring Syria. Sunday's polls include municipal elections for Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, in a country deeply divided in the group's involvement in the Syria war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Lebanese citizens and policemen stand next to campaign posters for Beirut municipal candidates in front of a polling station in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2016. Lebanon is holding the second round of municipal elections Sunday amid a political deadlock that has paralyzed state institutions at the height of a refugee crisis caused by the war in neighboring Syria. Sunday's polls include municipal elections for Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, in a country deeply divided in the group's involvement in the Syria war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

A Lebanese policeman stands guard next to campaign posters for Beirut municipal candidates in front of a polling station in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2016. Lebanon is holding the second round of municipal elections Sunday amid a political deadlock that has paralyzed state institutions at the height of a refugee crisis caused by the war in neighboring Syria. Sunday's polls include municipal elections for Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, in a country deeply divided in the group's involvement in the Syria war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) (The Associated Press)

Lebanon is holding the second round of municipal elections Sunday amid a political deadlock that has paralyzed state institutions at the height of a refugee crisis from neighboring Syria.

Voters are heading to the polls in the Christian, Druze, and Shiite Mount Lebanon regions — which includes the suburbs of the capital and its mountainous surroundings.

The Hezbollah party-militia, which is deeply involved in the war in neighboring Syria, is expected to win in its strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections monitoring group is reporting dozens of election violations, including vote buying and voter intimidation. It recorded 647 violations in the first round of elections, which included Beirut, last week.

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).