It has been nine years since Lebanon held parliamentary elections, an eternity of shifting politics in a period of instability that has left the political landscape hardly recognisable compared to 2009.
As election day on 6 May draws near, the race is on full display, with the ubiquitous signs and posters in all major cities trumpeting the chances of a multitude of candidates and political leaders.
But where once these politicians and their parties were defined in a polarity that emerged in the wake of former prime minister Rafic Hariri’s 2005 assassination, now the waters are muddied, giving the impression of every man for himself.
The post-2005 political order of the pro-Western "14 March" bloc vs the Hezbollah-led "8 March" alliance is falling apart, experts say.
"This is not a parliamentary legislative election; it is more like a municipal election," Sateh Noureddine, editor-in-chief of the Al Modon news website, told Middle East Eye.
Technically, this is the vote that matters most: Lebanon is a parliamentary republic, where the parliament elects the president, writes laws and passes treaties.