Explainer: Lebanon vote under new rules likely to keep old guard in power

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A smooth election and the swift formation of a new government are not only important for Lebanon's political stability but also to bolster a weak economy that is in dire need of reforms and investment. The new voting system has generated uncertainty in some districts, but Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, looks likely to form another unity government that includes Iran-backed Shi'ite movement Hezbollah. Hezbollah, which is heavily armed, may emerge stronger, though there is little prospect of it and its allies securing the two-thirds majority needed to dominate the state.