- Title: LEBANON: FINAL CAMPAIGNING UNDERWAY AS COUNTRY PREPARES TO HEAD TO THE POLLS
- Date: 26th May 2005
- Summary: (BN11) BEIRUT, LEBANON (MAY 26, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. MAN DANCING IN ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN BY SUPPORTERS OF SAAD HARIRI, LEADER OF THE ANTI-SYRIAN OPPOSITION, AND SON OF ASSASSINATED FORMER PRIME MINISTER RAFIK AL-HARIRI 0.06 2. WS: MAN DANCING AND SUPPORTERS SITTING 0.10 3. PEOPLE CLAPPING AND SMOKING PIPE 0.16 4. CU: LARGE SIGN IN ARABI
- Embargoed: 10th June 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Reuters ID: LVA6V60GO80HE6LATS15E1AXG8HO
- Story Text: Final campaigning underway as Lebanon prepares to
head to the polls.
Fifty one candidates have signed-up to contest
nineteen seats in Beirut, in the first Lebanese elections
free of Syrian influence since the end of the civil war in
1990
The anti-Syrian opposition, led by Saad al-Hariri, the
son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri
is almost certain to sweep to victory.
The election begins on Sunday (May 29), and is likely
to see Hariri, a billionaire businessman, secure his
position as the dominant Sunni Muslim voice in Lebanon.
It was the February 14 assassination of his father
which prompted the anti-Syrian protests and intense world
pressure that finally forced Syria to leave Lebanon.
But while there is widespread agreement that the
elections are a big step forward for Lebanon, the adoption
of the "disruptive" 2000 electoral law has forced many
prominent candidates to withdraw from the race.
"This is the first parliament to be elected without the
Syrian occupation. It is the first parliament to be elected
after an enormous popular uprising, the like of which
Lebanon had not witnessed since its independence in 1943.
It is the first parliament to be elected with the
international community really interested in Lebanon's
sovereignty and freedom. The parliament's first mission is
to draft a new electoral law," said Jubran Tueni, the
outspoken anti-Syrian editor of al-Nahar daily newspaper.
He is running on Hariri's list for the Christian Orthodox
seat.
Tueni is dissatisfied with the existing electoral law,
and said the new parliament's first mission will be to
draft a new one. The law splits the country into only five
electoral regions. Candidates run on "lists," or blocs,
divided along sectarian lines.
The law was adopted at the peak of Syrian influence on
Lebanon and it has ensured that blocs of pro-Syrian
candidates would always win.
Lebanese law professor Shibli Mallat says he is
confident Lebanese elections will take place in an honest
way.
"In an unprecedented way the Lebanese elections will be
held in an honest and free way for the simple reason that
the usual Syrian interference in composing electoral lists
has gone from the Lebanese political arena," Mallat said.
The Taif Accord, that ended the Lebanese civil war in
1990, divides parliament's 128 seats in half between
Muslims and Christians but stipulates large constituencies.
The Lebanese opposition expects to seal an end to
Syria's 15-year hegemony by forming the majority in the
next parliament.
But the country faces an uncertain future. The
elections may be free from direct Syrian influence, but the
run-up has been marked by a strong undercurrent of
sectarianism amid the usual political bargaining.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None