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Lebanese vote in elections marred by vote buying |
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August 28, 2000
BAABDAT, Lebanon (AP) - Thousands of troops deployed in central and northern Lebanon Sunday as citizens went to the polls to choose parliamentary representatives in a two-stage election marred by charges of vote-buying and meddling by power-broker Syria and its allies in the Beirut government. The parliamentary campaign has been short on issues and, despite some outspoken resentment against Syria, will not weaken that country's grip on Lebanon. Syria's 30,000 troops in Lebanon are not a subject for discussion and most candidates have Syria's tacit approval, ensuring a four-year parliament packed with pro-Syrians. In Sunday's voting, some 286 candidates are contesting 63 seats in the 128-member legislature for the provinces of Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon, the Christian heartland where 1.3 million Lebanese over the age of 21 are eligible to vote. Polling stations in Mount Lebanon's four electoral districts and the North's districts opened at 7 a.m. (0400GMT) and will close at 5 p.m. (1400GMT). Initial results are expected as early as Monday morning. The capital Beirut, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the south will vote next Sunday for the remaining 65 legislators. It will be the first time in nearly three decades that southern regions near the border with Israel will vote, an event made possible by the Israeli withdrawal from a border buffer zone in May. As has been common during major political events since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, the government deployed the army to ensure violence-free balloting, sending about 10,000 soldiers on the streets in the North and Mount Lebanon. Helmeted troops manned checkpoints and armored vehicles took up positions on major road intersections. The Defense Ministry canceled all weapons licenses, and about 120 people have so far been arrested for violating the ban. All nightclubs and restaurants in the populous voting regions have been ordered closed from midday (0900GMT) Saturday until Monday morning. Police were in charge inside polling stations. However, violence has been minimal. Two people suffered knife wounds at an election rally in the southern port city of Sidon on Saturday night. Two others were killed in an election-related gunbattle in July in the south. On the eve of the vote, Prime Minister Salim Hoss pledged an honest and free election. President Emile Lahoud voted at a polling station in the post office at his hometown of Baabdat in Mount Lebanon about two hours after the polls opened. "I am proud," a beaming Lahoud, wearing a black T-shirt, told reporters after casting his ballot. "This is the first time I've voted in my life." Lahoud, 64, is a former naval career officer who served as army commander for 10 years until his election as president by parliament in October 1998. Under Lebanese law, members of the military are forbidden from voting. Lebanese elections, which date back to even before independence from France in 1943, were interrupted for 20 years by the civil war. "I voted for the good people," George Massoud, a 70-year-old grocer said as he opened his store for business after casting his ballot in Baabdat, 15 kilometers (10 miles) northeast of Beirut. As is typical of Lebanese elections held since the end of civil war, there have been calls for a boycott, violence and charges of government meddling. There have also been allegations of vote-buying, up to dlrs 200 a vote. Opponents of candidates considered backed by the government have claimed that authorities were influencing the elections, charges denied by Lahoud and Hoss. Lahoud called on voters Sunday not to be swayed by the influence of money. "He who buys you can sell you. ... Vote your conscience," Lahoud, a Maronite Catholic, said, borrowing from remarks made earlier by Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. Right-wing Christian groups opposed to Syria's dominance of the country have called for a boycott, saying Syria packaged the election to result in a pro-Syrian parliament, just like the outgoing legislature. But the calls were not expected to be heeded as in 1992 elections, when Christian boycott was widespread. With Israeli troops out of Lebanon and the Syrian factor a non-issue, the focus has shifted to a faltering economy and the candidates' merits. In Mount Lebanon, the battle is between Interior Minister Michel Murr and Nassib Lahoud, a former ambassador to Washington; and in the Metn district between Druse leader Walid Jumblatt and government-backed candidates in the Chouf. In the North, it is a power struggle between former Prime Minister Omar Karami and Cabinet minister Suleiman Franjieh. Opponents of the government, led by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, accuse the Hoss government of failing to lift the country from a deepening recession. Hoss has accused Hariri of shackling Lebanon with more than dlrs 20 billion debt during his 1992-1998 tenure. Both Hariri and Hoss are running in Beirut next Sunday. ---- Editor's Note - Associated Press writer Joseph Panossian contributed to this report. |
