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Low turnout mars Hariri election win in Beirut
By Alistair Lyon
BEIRUT, May 30 (Reuters) - Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud blamed
Lebanon's electoral law on Monday for the low turnout in parliamentary
polls in Beirut, but stayed silent on the sweeping win scored by his
slain political rival's son Saad al-Hariri.
The meagre 28 percent turnout marred Hariri's landslide victory in
the first general election in three decades with no Syrian troops in
Lebanon and no direct Syrian interference.
Lahoud, whose political survival may be at stake after the May 29-June
19 elections, said the turnout in Beirut, the first region to vote,
"proves our theory that the present electoral law does not meet
aspirations of the Lebanese people."
In an official statement, he urged the next parliament to draft a
new law that would secure fair representation for all.
Official results showed Hariri's slate grabbing all the capital's 19
seats in the 128-member assembly in Sunday's vote.
Many people stayed away because Hariri's win seemed assured, with
nine seats going to his bloc uncontested before the vote.
Though he is a political newcomer, the victory makes Hariri, 35, a
strong contender to lead the next government and pursue the political
and economic policies of his billionaire businessman father, who was
assassinated in Beirut on Feb. 14.
Hariri has avoided saying publicly if he wants the post.
Despite his ties to Damascus, Lahoud has often criticised the
election law adopted in 2000 under Syrian tutelage and opposed by
the president's fellow-Maronite Christians.
They say it effectively allows Muslims to choose many of the Christian
deputies in the assembly that is divided equally between Christians
and Muslims in a power-sharing agreement.
Hariri and his allies in the anti-Syrian opposition have also
criticised the law, but decided it was more important to hold elections
on time than try to draft a new one in haste.
The vote follows two political earthquakes in Lebanon -- Hariri's
killing in a bombing many Lebanese blamed on Damascus and the end of
Syria's 29-year troop presence last month.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Among major challenges facing Lebanon are redefining ties with Syria,
United Nations demands to disarm Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah guerrillas
and tackling a debt of $34 billion.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised the conduct of the Beirut
poll and said the elections gave the Lebanese an opportunity to
"shape their own future, strengthen their political institutions and
restore their full sovereignty."
With little competition and a boycott by the main Armenian Tashnag
Party and supporters of fiercely anti-Syrian Christian leader Michel
Aoun, turnout was thinnest in Christian districts.
Beirut had a 34 percent turnout in 2000, when Hariri's father, then
cooperating with Syria, also swept the board.
For the first time, foreign observers monitored the polls, with a
team of more than 150 led by the European Union. Their chief, Jose
Ignacio Salafranca, said the Beirut vote went off in a "calm and
orderly manner, with no major incidents."
He told a news conference the EU mission would provide a detailed
analysis of the 2000 electoral law after the polls.
"Today was a victory for national unity," Hariri told a jubilant
crowd on Sunday night. "This is a victory for Rafik al-Hariri. Today,
Beirut showed its loyalty to Rafik al-Hariri."
Horn-honking supporters drove noisily through the streets as fireworks
lit the night sky over the city centre, rebuilt by the late Hariri
from the ruins of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Hariri will also field candidates in northern and eastern Lebanon,
seeking 80 to 90 parliamentary seats for his bloc and its allies,
a majority that would allow him to push through political, economic
and judicial reforms sought by his father.
The late Hariri resigned in October, a month after Lahoud's
presidential term was extended at Syria's behest.
Hariri's assassination is now under investigation by a U.N.-appointed
prosecutor. Damascus has denied any hand in it.
05/30/05 09:34 ET
By Alistair Lyon
BEIRUT, May 30 (Reuters) - Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud blamed
Lebanon's electoral law on Monday for the low turnout in parliamentary
polls in Beirut, but stayed silent on the sweeping win scored by his
slain political rival's son Saad al-Hariri.
The meagre 28 percent turnout marred Hariri's landslide victory in
the first general election in three decades with no Syrian troops in
Lebanon and no direct Syrian interference.
Lahoud, whose political survival may be at stake after the May 29-June
19 elections, said the turnout in Beirut, the first region to vote,
"proves our theory that the present electoral law does not meet
aspirations of the Lebanese people."
In an official statement, he urged the next parliament to draft a
new law that would secure fair representation for all.
Official results showed Hariri's slate grabbing all the capital's 19
seats in the 128-member assembly in Sunday's vote.
Many people stayed away because Hariri's win seemed assured, with
nine seats going to his bloc uncontested before the vote.
Though he is a political newcomer, the victory makes Hariri, 35, a
strong contender to lead the next government and pursue the political
and economic policies of his billionaire businessman father, who was
assassinated in Beirut on Feb. 14.
Hariri has avoided saying publicly if he wants the post.
Despite his ties to Damascus, Lahoud has often criticised the
election law adopted in 2000 under Syrian tutelage and opposed by
the president's fellow-Maronite Christians.
They say it effectively allows Muslims to choose many of the Christian
deputies in the assembly that is divided equally between Christians
and Muslims in a power-sharing agreement.
Hariri and his allies in the anti-Syrian opposition have also
criticised the law, but decided it was more important to hold elections
on time than try to draft a new one in haste.
The vote follows two political earthquakes in Lebanon -- Hariri's
killing in a bombing many Lebanese blamed on Damascus and the end of
Syria's 29-year troop presence last month.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Among major challenges facing Lebanon are redefining ties with Syria,
United Nations demands to disarm Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah guerrillas
and tackling a debt of $34 billion.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised the conduct of the Beirut
poll and said the elections gave the Lebanese an opportunity to
"shape their own future, strengthen their political institutions and
restore their full sovereignty."
With little competition and a boycott by the main Armenian Tashnag
Party and supporters of fiercely anti-Syrian Christian leader Michel
Aoun, turnout was thinnest in Christian districts.
Beirut had a 34 percent turnout in 2000, when Hariri's father, then
cooperating with Syria, also swept the board.
For the first time, foreign observers monitored the polls, with a
team of more than 150 led by the European Union. Their chief, Jose
Ignacio Salafranca, said the Beirut vote went off in a "calm and
orderly manner, with no major incidents."
He told a news conference the EU mission would provide a detailed
analysis of the 2000 electoral law after the polls.
"Today was a victory for national unity," Hariri told a jubilant
crowd on Sunday night. "This is a victory for Rafik al-Hariri. Today,
Beirut showed its loyalty to Rafik al-Hariri."
Horn-honking supporters drove noisily through the streets as fireworks
lit the night sky over the city centre, rebuilt by the late Hariri
from the ruins of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Hariri will also field candidates in northern and eastern Lebanon,
seeking 80 to 90 parliamentary seats for his bloc and its allies,
a majority that would allow him to push through political, economic
and judicial reforms sought by his father.
The late Hariri resigned in October, a month after Lahoud's
presidential term was extended at Syria's behest.
Hariri's assassination is now under investigation by a U.N.-appointed
prosecutor. Damascus has denied any hand in it.
05/30/05 09:34 ET