MaxedOutMama
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Lebanon's Election
This is the first election supposedly free of Syrian influence for a long, long time. In Beirut, the Hariri party seems to have won:
But voters denied Hariri the high turnout he sought in the first polls in three decades with no Syrian troops in Lebanon. Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa put the turnout at 28 percent.and:
The capital had a 34 percent turnout in 2000, when Hariri's father, then cooperating with Syria, also swept the board.
Beirut was the first region to go to the polls. Other regions vote over the next three Sundays...
Followers of Christian leader Michel Aoun, left off Hariri's anti-Syrian ticket, had urged people to shun the polls, handing out orange stickers that said: "Boycott the appointments."
For some, the elections are a new start. "I voted because I believe in change," said Basil Eid, 27. "We want Lebanon free of any subordination. We have to rule ourselves by ourselves."In contrast, the final turnout in France is supposed to top 70%.
For others, the euphoria of the anti-Syrian protests has given way to dismay at politicians who have reverted to electoral horse-trading and alliances that curtail voter choice.
"Why should I vote when the result is already decided?" said Abdul-Rahman Itani, in his 40s.
