Anti-Syrian bloc says won landslide in N.Lebanon (Reuters)

[Up2Late]

(Is this why Condi and the WH are making so much noise about the Iran election? Why are they not talking about the Lebanon Election? Is this NOT what they wanted?)

Anti-Syrian bloc says won landslide in N.Lebanon

Sun Jun 19, 2005 03:00 PM ET

By Lin Noueihed and Alaa Shahine

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - A Lebanese opposition alliance said it had won the final phase of a parliamentary election by a landslide on Sunday, which would give it a clear mandate to steer Lebanon out of Syria's shadow. Initial results for the north Lebanon stage were expected later on Sunday. The ballot, staggered by region over four weekends, is the first for three decades with no Syrian military presence, after Damascus pulled its troops out in April.

"We are heading for a landslide in north Lebanon. We'll easily get the 21 seats necessary for the parliament majority," a source at Saad al-Hariri's parliamentary Future bloc said. Another source in the group confirmed the report. There was no immediate reaction from rival lists, though politicians had earlier predicted a tight race in northern Lebanon, in which more than 100 candidates were fighting for the remaining 28 parliamentary seats.

A victory by Hariri's group would mean the 128-seat assembly had an anti-Syrian majority for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war. Competition was close and sectarian tension high. The anti-Syrian list, backed by the Sunni Muslim son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, squared off against an unlikely alliance of pro-Syrians and Damascus' erstwhile foe, former general Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian.

Aoun's victory in the Christian heartland of Mount Lebanon in last week's round stunned the disparate movement whose street protests following Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14 forced Syria to bow to global pressure and pull out of Lebanon. Hariri's slate needed to win 21 of the seats up for grabs in the north to have an absolute majority -- a far cry from the two-thirds the anti-Syrian front had predicted.

(more and page 2 at link above)

[LynnTheDem]

1. And Hamas won huge in S. Lebanon. Hamas & the majority of Lebanese are

PRO-Syrian.

Interesting.

[Up2Late]

2. Good thing the people in Lebanon are SO sick of War...

...otherwise, this could have the makings of a Civil War.

Well I guess that will have to wait another 15-20 years, until these who didn't live though the last one get older.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. And the voting system is weighted to prevent the shiite majority

from ruling. The French f*d up Lebanon on purpose as they bailed out 60 years ago. It remains totally corrupt and f*d up, no matter how many 'free' but totally unfair elections they have. In the end, a bunch of sectarian elites maneuver around and some semblence of order arrives, or not, and then the region descends into civil war, which is why Syria was in there in the first place: everyone agreed that it was the only way to end the last civil war.

When assesing Lebanese elections just keep in mind that most people have no choice who they vote for, they have to vote for their ethnic (christian, sunni, shiite being the major groups) candidate in their ethnically appointed ancestral home town. Three shiite votes equal one christian vote.

Google: Lebanon confessional system election.

You will not hear the MSM or the necon Cabal talking about this, they will be braying 'democracy triumphs' instead.

[geek tragedy]

4. Hamas is a Lebanese political party?

I've heard of Hisb'allah, but not Hamas running in Lebanese elections.

[LynnTheDem]

5. Hezbollah won, and Hamas is a close ally of Hezbollah

My apologies, I shoulda posted far more clearly. :)

[ovidsen]

6. How a home town (Beirut) paper is playing it

Hariri-led anti-Syrian alliance secures parliamentary majority in decisive North Lebanon poll

By Nayla Assaf
Daily Star staff
Monday, June 20, 2005

Lebanon's opposition claims victory

BEIRUT: Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition looked set to win outright control of Parliament last night in the decisive final round of the country's first elections free of Syrian control in almost 30 years. Early indications from North Lebanon showed the united list of Saad Hariri, the son of murdered former Premier Rafik Hariri, had won enough seats to secure a majority in Parliament for his united opposition grouping.

Leading opposition politician Boutros Harb said: "According to incomplete results, we are heading for a total victory."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=16075

I can't vouch for this paper's impartiality (they seem to lean pro-Christian and anti-Syrian) but it's an interesting take on the politics of a nation that's rife with religious based factions (Shiite, Sunni, Druse, Marionite Christian) where a lot of folks are just damn sick and tired of fighting eachother.

[Up2Late]

8. Cool, You live in Beirut!

I hope you don't mid if I ask you a few questions (because the News getting though the RW media filter here seems biased)

1) Who do people in Beirut REALLY think planted that Bomb?

2) Who do you and people in Beirut think was behind the anti-Syria demonstration (the so-called Cedar Revolution)?

3) Have you ever heard of "Gulf News" and "BigNewsNetwork .com" in Dubai, and if so, do you think they are Pro-U.S. Propaganda?

[ovidsen]

9. No, I don't live in Beirut

I've never even been there. I just read a lot. And I've talked with Lebanese-Americans about what's been happening in their homeland. I know, I sound like that guy on TV... "But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express!" Sorry for the confusion.

I stumbled across the Daily Star web site a couple of years ago when somehow I started getting newsletters from it. I have no idea how I got on it's email list. From what I know about Lebanon and its wildly sectarian politics, the paper seems relatively impartial. I added it's story on the Lebanon election to this thread because I thought fellow DUers might find it interesting.

If anybody here is from, or in Lebanon, drop me a line. Help me fill in the gaps.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. BBC (Sunday): Lebanon opposition claim poll win

From the BBC Online
Dated Sunday June 19 19:20 GMT (12:20 pm PDT)

Lebanon opposition claim poll win

Lebanon's main opposition anti-Syrian alliance has claimed victory in the final round of the country's four-round parliamentary elections.

The bloc led by Saad Hariri, son of the late Rafik Hariri, faced ex-Gen Michel Aoun's group in the fight for the last 28 seats at stake in northern Lebanon.

Mr Hariri's group says the incomplete results set them on track for a majority in the new parliament.

It was Lebanon's first vote since the Syrian troop withdrawal this year.

Read more.