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Lebanese vote in Beirut with Syrian troops gone
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Lebanese vote in Beirut with Syrian troops gone
Voters trickled to the polls in Beirut yesterday in a parliamentary election starting a month after Syrian troops quit Lebanon, with the son of assassinated former premier Rafik al-Hariri seeking a clean sweep.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said early turnout was estimated at a modest 12 percent after four hours of voting in the mainly Sunni Muslim capital. ?This (election) is a very important achievement and a proof of our commitment to our constitutional institutions,? he told a midday news conference. Nine of the city?s 19 seats have already gone uncontested to nominees of Saad al-Hariri, a 35-year-old businessman thrust into politics by the Feb. 14 killing of his father.
Riding a wave of sympathy, Hariri is set to score a landslide in Beirut, the first region to vote for the 128-member parliament in elections phased over four successive Sundays. ?The people will have their say today and demonstrate their loyalty to Rafik al-Hariri,? his son told reporters.
The polls follow two political earthquakes in Lebanon ? Hariri?s killing in a bomb blast many Lebanese blamed on Damascus, and the end of Syria?s 29-year troop presence. Between those landmark events, flag-waving Christians and Muslims, including many civil war foes, flooded the streets in protests against Syria, which denied any hand in Hariri?s death. For some, Lebanon?s first elections in three decades without Syrian troops offer a new start.
?I voted because I believe in change,? Basil Eid, 27, told Reuters. ?We want Lebanon free of any subordination. We have to rule ourselves by ourselves.?
<B>Mariam KAROUNY</B>
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