Father Elias Akary belongs to the Syriac Orthodox church, one of many Oriental orthodox churches in the Middle East. He was supposed to campaign for Metn MP Michel Murr, a man who has dominated the political landscape of the Mont-Lebanon region for 40 years. But when Father Akary changed his mind and decided to join the campaign of Murr’s rival, Ibrahim Kanaan, Michel Murr went mad.

In Lebanon, ballot papers are printed by the political parties to be distributed either on election day or the day before at polling stations. Instead of distributing Murr’s ballot papers, Akary distributed Kanaan’s ones. Michel Murr summoned Akary to his party HQ to ask him to retrieve all his opponent’s ballot papers or face the Lebanese secret services, attached to the ministry of defence. A threat that cannot be taken lightly as the defence minister is Murr's own son!

On June 9, OTV, a television channel close to General Aoun’s party, the Free Patriotic Movement, broadcasted the recording of this conversation. The FPM party, which Kanaan belongs to, intends to complain to the Constitutional Council against Michel Murr for “attempt of corruption, menaces and priest sequestration”, citing General Aoun.

Transparency-Lebanon reports in a press release published the day following the elections that several candidates gave money to some voters in exchange for their vote: a vote is worth 800 dollars in Zahle (Bekaa province), between 60 and 100 dollars in Saida (south) and can reach 3000 dollars in Zghorta (north).