Lebanon opposition sweeping out pro Syrians in election

Times, UK:

LEBANESE opposition candidates claimed to have won a clean sweep of all seats in Beirut as voters cast their ballots yesterday in the first round of a four-stage general election that will end Syria’s 15-year domination of Lebanon.

The elections are the first since 1990 to be free of Syrian interference. About 100 observers from the United Nations and European Union are in Lebanon, the first time that a Lebanese Government has permitted international monitoring.

Voting was brisk in Muslim districts of Beirut, where support runs high for the family of Rafik Hariri, a former Prime Minister whose assassination in February sparked mass demonstrations that led to Syria withdrawing its troops from Lebanon last month. Mr Hariri’s son, Saad, 35, heads a near-unbeatable list of candidates and is expected to sweep Beirut.

...

The Opposition expects to win 80 to 90 places in the 128-seat parliament, but disagreements over the law in the run-up to the elections have aggravated sectarian tensions. The two opposition powerhouses, led by Mr Hariri and Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze community, struck a deal with the two main Shia groups to accept the electoral law and hold the polls on schedule. This angered some Christian opposition members , who felt that they had been sold out.

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