Thousands of polling station employees began casting their ballots on Thursday, three days ahead of the countrywide parliamentary elections. Polling stations maintained a “calm and organized atmosphere,” the state-run National News Agency reported. The polls are set to close at 7:00 pm, NNA said. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Nohad al-Mashnouq said during a press conference following a meeting with security officials in Baalbeck that he had given clear instructions to security forces to remain neutral. The country has not held a parliamentary poll since 2009. Sunday’s elections will be the first under a new law based on proportional representation under which voters will choose one list of allied candidates, as well as a preferred candidate from among them. The law also allows Lebanese living abroad to vote. During his press conference, Mashnouq mentioned the expatriate voting that took place over the weekend, calling the preliminary overseas polling a "huge success that we must learn from and carry out on the same level inside Lebanon."