Lebanese vote for parliament after fierce campaign

Beirut fishermen hoist a picture of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on a raft for his electoral campaign on Thursday

BEIRUT, Lebanon (Reuters) -- Voting began on Sunday in Lebanon's parliamentary elections after a campaign in which insults and money flowed freely with foes of the pro-Syrian government accusing it of trying to rig the outcome.

More than 300 polling centres opened amid tight security in the north and in Mount Lebanon, the Christian heartland.

Television showed voters casting their ballots and officials said the early turnout was higher than expected. Polls will remain open until 6 p.m. (1500 GMT).

About 1.3 million registered voters will choose 63 deputies out of 286 candidates contesting Lebanon's third parliamentary election since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

Results are not expected until Monday at the earliest.

Hundreds more candidates are vying for the remaining 65 seats in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and the south, including a strip occupied by Israel from 1978 until May this year. People in those areas will vote next Sunday.

A statement by the presidential palace on Saturday said President Emile Lahoud would not allow any flaws in the vote.

But many Lebanese believe that Syria, whose political grip is backed by 35,000 troops stationed in Lebanon, has ordained the result through its influence on the government.

The government passed an election law last year that critics say re-drew constituencies in favour of its candidates.

"We are supposed to be a democratic country," Boutros Harb, a former presidential candidate who is running for a seat in the north, told Reuters in a recent interview.

"The presence of the Syrian troops... must have a direct or indirect effect on the electoral field."

Hassan Krayim, head of the Lebanese Association for Democracy of Elections, an independent election observer, said the Israeli withdrawal had made Syria keener than ever to ensure that the elections produce a pliant government in Beirut.

"The Syrians believe the next confrontation will be the departure of their troops and they want to avoid it... Syria and the government have already decided the result."

Accusations of vote rigging

Opposition candidates have faced intimidation, sometimes in the form of stun grenades lobbed at their homes.

The government has used state-run television to smear opponents, particularly former premier Rafik al-Hariri, a billionaire who has spent lavishly to try to win back power.

"The pressure and violations instigated by the authorities in the elections will lead to a political revolution," said Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who is running for parliament.

"(President Emile) Lahoud is not ruling the country. (Interior Minister) Michel al-Murr is."

Murr, a rich pro-Syrian figure whose daughter is married to Lahoud's son, has come under fire for his conduct of the vote.

A survey by independent Maa-Data Statistical Consulting Center showed that 70 percent of 1,006 voters polled in one of Mount Lebanon's four constituencies did not trust Murr.

High stakes Mount Lebanon

Mount Lebanon is the stage for a high-stakes battle between Murr and businessman Nassib Lahoud, a cousin of the president and a former ambassador to Washington.

Nassib Lahoud faced Murr in the 1996 poll and both were elected to parliament. This year, he has accused Murr of using "gangster tactics" to influence voting.

Newspapers said the army would send 10,000 soldiers to the north and Mount Lebanon to keep the peace.

The Interior Ministry says that 2.75 million Lebanese have registered to vote, which observers say is an improbably high figure compared to the estimated population of four million.

Three Christian parties have urged Lebanese to join their boycott of the polls to protest at the Syrian presence.

Other Christians have criticised Syria's interference, but not as directly. Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir voiced his disgust at the poll, telling Lebanese to vote only for worthy candidates -- and making clear he felt none fit the bill.

The elections are run on sectarian lines, with the 128 seats divided equally among Moslems and Christians. These shares are sub-divided between each of the 18 recognised religious sects.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE)
MAA- DATA Statistical Consulting Center

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