Lebanese voters go to the polls today in a tight race between Hizbullah, backed by Syria and Iran and Lebanon's Western-backed ruling coalition.
Polling stations opened at 5am Irish time and some 50,000 members of the security forces fanned out over the 26 electoral districts to guard against violence, focusing on areas where competition is expected to be tightest.
"Democracy is a blessing that we must preserve, a blessing that distinguishes Lebanon in the Middle East," President Michel Suleiman told reporters after voting in his hometown in Jbeil district, north of Beirut.
He urged Lebanese to vote, calling it "an important act that should be done calmly and with joy so that afterwards we can start to build Lebanon".
The election will shape the government for the next four years. Christians are seen as the deciding voters as the community is split and backs rival groups.
Armoured personnel carriers dotted the streets of Beirut's Christian Ashrafiyeh district. Long queues formed outside many polling stations in Beirut and other areas. Supporters of rivals, wearing t-shirts in their party colours, handed out candidate lists and urged voters to cast their ballot.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said the election was proceeding peacefully and turnout appeared high. The election is a tight contest between coalitions at odds over issues including the fate of Hizbullah's powerful guerrilla army and relations with neighbouring Syria, which dominated Lebanon until 2005.
The United States, which lists Hizbullah as a terrorist group, has linked future aid to Lebanon to the shape and policies of the government that replaces the current national unity cabinet. Hizbullah is part of the present government.
The "March 14" majority coalition, led by Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, has enjoyed firm backing from the United States and other countries including Saudi Arabia. It opposes the influence of Syria which dominated Lebanon until 2005.
The alliance won elections that followed the assassination of Mr Hariri's father, Rafik, in 2005, but struggled to govern in the face of a paralysing and sometimes violent power struggle with Hizbullah and its allies.
Reuters