Gemayel: Number of registered expat voters ‘not credible’

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Phalange party MP Sami Gemayel questioned on Friday the number of registered expat voters provided by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry and called them ” not credible”.

“I do not believe the numbers provided by the Foreign Ministry concerning expat voters,” Gemayel told MTV, adding: “No rational person could believe that there are zero Lebanese expats living in Canada who want to cast their vote.”

Gemayel also warned that “some within the cabinet do not want the Lebanese expats to take part in the elections.”

Gemayel comments come after Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said on Thursday,that 3009 Lebanese voters have registered for expat voting, adding that 7000 others have expressed their readiness to do so.

There are more Lebanese living abroad than in Lebanon. In Canada the number of Lebanese is around 450,000… in Brazil there are 6-8 million people of Lebanese origin while the total population of Lebanon is 4 millions .

Religiously, descendants of Lebanese Christians comprise the overwhelming majority of Lebanese people worldwide, according to some estimates, outnumbering Lebanese Muslims (both Sunni and Shiites ) at a 3:1 ratio, and concentrated principally in the diaspora.

Here is the list of cities and number of registered voters as provided by the foreign ministry:

State or City / number of registered voters

Istanbul 19

Indonesia 15

Detroit 77

Oman 181

New York 110

Washington 132

Los Angeles 9

France 742

Montreal 0 Canada

Ottawa 0 Canada

Brussels 117

Bogota 20

Bucharest 16

Britain 20

Austria 20

Canberra 11

Sydney 1

Prague 10

Buenos Aires 0

Tunisia 12

Rio de Janeiro 0

Freetown 519

Caracas 5

Conakry 89

Manama 29

Senegal 161

Asuncion 0

Madrid 70

Kuwait 23

Angola 0

Zambia 0

Mozambique 0

Zimbabwe 92

Malawi 89

Botswana 18

Namibia 16

Marseille – France 37

Guinea 63

Dubai 14

Melbourne 50

Kuala Lumpur 1

Switzerland 17

South Africa 0

Jeddah 0

Doha 21

Vienna 63

Kazakhstan 25

Stockholm 84

Sofia 6

Abidjan Cote – d’Ivoire 6

total : 3009 registered voters

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