Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah and its allies appear to have won more than half of Lebanon’s parliamentary seats in the country’s first general election in nearly a decade, unofficial results indicate.

Preliminary results from Sunday’s vote released by the authorities on Monday suggested that the Iranian-supported organisation and allied smaller parties won at least 67 seats in the 128-seat parliament. Another unity government will be formed in which the Shia bloc will hold enough power to veto bills they dislike.

The vociferously anti-Hezbollah, right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces party are expected to be the biggest winners of the election, almost doubling their number of seats from eight to 15.

Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri says resignation on hold awaiting talks

Turnout across the country, where voters have to return to their place of birth to cast a ballot no matter their current residence in the country, was low, at an estimated 49 per cent.

It is widely believed Sunni voters, angry at perceived concessions made by Future Movement leader and prime minister Saad Hariri to his Christian allies, stayed at home, allowing the Shia and Christian parties to make gains.

Lebanese newspaper Al-Akbhar, which is loyal to Hezbollah, carried a picture of a dour-faced Mr Hariri on Monday’s front page, headlined simply “The Slap”.

Civil war-period figures and pro-Syria politicians made comebacks from the 2005 election, which was dominated by debate over Syria’s influence in the country.

Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri Show all 3 1 /3 Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri Chaos at the scene of the car bomb blast in Beirut that killed Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri REUTERS Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri Demonstrators mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Rafiq Hariri at Martyrs Square in Beirut EPA Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri Rafiq Hariri, left, with Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah AP

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk is expected to announce the official results later on Monday.

Lebanon went to the election booth at the weekend under a set of complicated new rules designed to move the country towards a proportionally representative system for the first time, allowing space for more independent candidates.

In the end, only two new civil society candidates, from the Li Baladi party are thought to have won seats. One – the journalist Joumana Haddad, also one of the only women thought to have won – was thought to have won a seat in Beirut on Sunday night, only for the state to then say in a recount it believed the Free Patriotic Movement’s Antoine Panos had won.

A protest in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square to demand a third recount for Ms Haddad’s seat has been organised for Monday night.

Lebanese media have been dominated in recent weeks by pundits angry that the country’s biggest issues – the heavily indebted economy, the disarmament of Hezbollah, Syrian refugees and crises in public services such as electricity and garbage – have for the most part been sidelined in campaigning.

The major parties are seen as being too preoccupied with forging allegiances to maintain the status quo to assure voters they will do what is best for the country.