Lebanon is a country in crisis. The UN says about 80% of its people live in poverty. The capital, Beirut, still bears the scars of the devastating port explosion that killed more than 200 people in 2020. The mood is fragile, hurting, desperate.

On Sunday, the Lebanese people will go to the polls and pass verdict on the politicians that many blame for the state of the country. But can this election deliver the change they need?

On May 15, Lebanese voters will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Lebanon has changed significantly since the last general election in 2018. Indeed, after the emergence of the October 17 protest movement, an economic and financial collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port explosion, and disruptions to energy and food security caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country is now facing a brand new set of crippling challenges.

Today, the people of Lebanon are yearning for sweeping reforms that can get the country out of its chronic state of crisis. But rather than delivering this much-needed structural shift, the upcoming election will likely resuscitate a dysfunctional governance system.