Lebanon braces for election showdown

LEBANON ELECTIONS: Sunday sees showdown between Western-backed coalition and factions led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah. (Getty Images)

Lebanese voters go to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election showdown between the ruling Western-backed coalition and factions led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The vote is being held under tight security with 50,000 soldiers and police deployed across the country to prevent violence between the two camps.

More than 200 international observers from the European Union, the Carter Centre and other institutions will oversee the election.

Sunday's vote is being held from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (0400 GMT to 1600 GMT), with 3.2 million people eligible to cast their ballot.

At stake is whether the small Mediterranean country continues to enjoy widespread support from the West and Saudi Arabia or whether it tilts more towards Iran if Hezbollah and its allies win.

The United States, which considers the Shiite Hezbollah to be a terrorist organisation, has already said that its continued aid to Lebanon hinges on which side emerges victorious.

Analysts and pollsters predict a tight race for the 128-seat parliament with the winner clinching victory by just a few seats.

But they also say that whoever has the upper hand in forming the new government will most probably strike a deal with the opposing camp given Lebanon's power-sharing system.

A handful of key battleground constituencies are likely to be crucial in determining the outcome, with the Christian vote, which is divided between the two camps, set to tip the scale.

Both the current majority and the opposition have poured millions into the campaign, flying in thousands of their constituents from overseas amid expectations that their ballots could be a deciding factor.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said on Saturday he was hopeful of a smooth process and warned that voter fraud would not be tolerated after dozens of fake identity cards were seized in several regions.

The head of Lebanon's powerful Maronite church, Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, issued a stern message on the eve of the election urging voters against what he called "threats to Lebanon's identity."

"There are threats facing Lebanon's identity and our Arab identity, and we must be wary of this danger," said Sfeir, who in February warned that it could be dangerous if the Hezbollah-led camp unseats the majority in parliament.

Lebanon's complex power-sharing system divides the 128 seats in parliament equally between Christians and Muslims.

Top government posts are also allocated along confessional lines. The president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.

The current Sunni-led majority in parliament swept to power in 2005 amid a wave of popular discontent following the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a massive car bombing in Beirut.

The bombing forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence amid accusations - which were strongly denied by Damascus - of Syrian involvement.

It also marked the beginning of a turbulent period during which Hezbollah was thrust to the political forefront by its 2006 war with Israel in which 1,200 people died in Lebanon, most of them civilians.

Political unrest last year also saw a six-month vacancy in the presidency and sectarian clashes that killed more than 100 people after Hezbollah staged a spectacular takeover of mainly Sunni parts of Beirut. (Reuters)

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM