Some 12,000 Lebanese registered voters begun casting their ballots in Australia on Sunday, in the second phase of expatriate elections, one week before the May 6 polls. About 70,000 Lebanese are registered to vote on Sunday in 33 countries, in addition to the Island of Guadeloupe. The voting already begun at midnight on Saturday-Sunday in Australia and would end at 8:00 am Monday, Lebanon time, after the closing of the ballot boxes at 10:00 pm on the West Coast of the United States. On Friday, thousands of Lebanese expats have cast their votes in 6 Arab states for the first time in the history of parliamentary elections, based on a new proportional representation law, allowing some 82,000 registered Lebanese expatriates to vote in 39 countries. Sources from the Interior Ministry described Friday’s election day as “successful at all levels,” adding that the ministry’s apparatus and administration had attended the operation moment by moment. However, the positive image of Lebanese expats voting from abroad might be shaken by a legal defect, according to researcher at Information International Mohammed Shamseddine. He warned that the voting of Lebanese expatriates is not based on a legal ground, because the current electoral law stipulates that expats should vote in the 2022 Elections for 6 deputies who will represent them. Shamseddine told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanese expats are voting based on the old electoral law, which is annulled by the new law. “Any candidate who loses with a difference of 500 votes, which his opponent had won from the ballots of Lebanese expatriates, could present an appeal and annul the elections,” he said. The voter turnout of the Lebanese expats in Arab countries has reached a high attendance last Friday, including 62.4 percent in Saudi Arabia, 62.8 percent in the UAE, 74.66 percent in Oman, 76 percent in Qatar, 69 percent in Kuwait and 51 percent in Egypt. March 14 sources told Asharq Al-Awsat they are pleased with the high turnout, which signals the importance of connection between Lebanese living in the country and abroad.