Parliamentary election results in Lebanon highlight voters' growing desire to escape Beirut's political paralysis, but small changes in the legislature probably won't be enough to produce the sort of economic reforms needed to ease the country's financial crisis. Preliminary results for Lebanon's May 15 parliamentary elections indicate some small but notable shifts to the likely make-up of the next legislative body. The Christian Free Patriotic Movement, an ally of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, lost votes to the Western-leaning Christian Lebanese Forces. Meanwhile, independents likely won 11 seats and Hezbollah might have lost some seats. The early elections were the first since the country's severe financial crisis began in 2019 and since the deadly Beirut Port explosion in August 2020. Domestic voter turnout was 41%, less than the 49% that turned out in 2018, indicating voter apathy and a general lack of interest and trust in the government .