Free election leads to anti-Americanism!

Lebanese throng polls seen as test for Hezbollah

07 Jun 2009 15:40:36 GMT
Source: Reuters
* One wounded in Tripoli, brawls elsewhere, no major clashes

* Voter turnout 40 pct with four hours to go - Baroud

* Hezbollah and allies face U.S.-backed rivals in close race

(Adds Hezbollah candidate quote, Tripoli clash)

By Yara Bayoumy

BEIRUT, June 7 (Reuters) - Lebanese voted on Sunday in a high-stakes parliamentary election that pits Hezbollah and its allies, backed by Syria and Iran, against a bloc that has U.S. and Saudi support.

With four hours to go before polls were due to close at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT), Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said turnout had already reached 40 percent, suggesting it would exceed the 45 percent total recorded in the 2005 election.

That would be a high percentage for Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of the 3.26 million eligible voters live abroad.

Long queues spilled onto streets near some polling centres in Beirut. Some voters said they had been waiting for more than two hours to cast their ballot in what was widely expected to be a close contest between evenly balanced camps.

The two sides are at odds over Hezbollah's guerrilla force, which outguns the Lebanese army, and relations with neighbouring Syria, which dominated Lebanon for three decades until 2005.

Even if Hezbollah and its allies reverse their opponent's slim parliamentary majority, the likeliest outcome of the poll is another "national unity" government -- perhaps with a small group of independents holding the balance, analysts say.

Security was tight, with 50,000 troops and police deployed across Lebanon, especially in the most contested districts.

Security sources said one person was wounded by gunfire in the northern city of Tripoli and there were brawls between rival supporters elsewhere, but no reports of serious fighting.

"Democracy is a blessing we must preserve, a blessing that distinguishes Lebanon in the Middle East," said President Michel Suleiman after voting in his home town of Amchit, north of Beirut. He urged Lebanese to vote "calmly and with joy".

Christians, nearly 40 percent of Lebanon's eligible voters, are divided between the two main political blocs and their votes are expected to decide the election.

CRUCIAL VOTE

"This time it is really going to matter," Charbel Nakouzi, 40, a London-based banker, said outside a polling station in the mainly Christian district of Metn.

Supporters of rival factions, wearing t-shirts in party colours, handed out candidate lists outside polling stations.

There were many reports of vote-buying before the poll, with some Lebanese expatriates being offered free air tickets home. But Baroud said the actual voting was proceeding normally.

The United States, which lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group, has linked future aid to Lebanon to the shape and policies of the next government. Hezbollah, which says it must keep its arms to deter Israel, is part of the outgoing cabinet.

The anti-Syrian majority coalition, led by Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, has enjoyed firm backing from many Western countries, as well as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, since the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father Rafik al-Hariri.

The coalition took power in an election following Hariri's killing, but struggled to govern in the face of a sometimes violent conflict with Hezbollah and its allies.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who heads a team of international observers, urged Lebanese parties and their foreign backers to accept the result of the vote.

"I don't have any concerns over the conduct of the elections. I have concerns over the acceptance of the results by all the major parties," he said at a Beirut polling station.

Hezbollah candidate Ali Fayyad said the election expressed the free will of the Lebanese people. "We must recognise the result out of respect for democratic values," the official National News Agency quoted him as saying.

Perhaps 100 of the 128 seats in parliament are already decided, thanks to sectarian voting patterns and political deals, with Sunni and Shi'ite communities on opposing sides.

But in Christian areas, former army commander Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah, is up against the Phalange Party of former President Amin Gemayel and the Lebanese Forces of Samir Geagea.

Tensions in Lebanon have mostly been kept in check by leaders whose rivalries pushed the country to the brink of civil war last year. A thaw in ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria has also helped maintain stability in Lebanon in recent months. (Writing by Alistair Lyon; Additional reporting by Nadim Ladki, Tom Perry and Laila Bassam)

Americans have been preaching democracy while at the same time supporting autocracies and dictatorships throughout the world. In fact the Americans have historically conspired to toppling elected governments and installing friendly client regimes. No-where the US double standards and hypocrisy are demonstrated than in the Middle East. Arab autocrats and dictators depend on US support to stay in power. To the contrary, the US finds every excuse to castigate and isolate democratically-elected governments. As an example, Ahmedinejad and Hania governments were democratically-elected while are vehemently opposed by the Americans. Today there is an election in Lebanon. Naturally, the Americans will never accept Hezbullah-led alliance to win the election and have already threatened to withdraw aids and security cooperation. The Americans should realise that Arabs and Muslims are against their Jewish-controlled foreign policy and will vote for anti-American politicians whenever they get a chance. At present only autocrats and dictators are towing the pro-USraeli lines against the wishes of their own people; which will eventually lead to upheavals and instability.

Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times