BEIRUT (Reuters) – Firebrand former general Michel Aoun scored a stunning win on Monday in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections to become the main Christian political force in the country, only weeks after returning from exile.
Aoun, a prominent figure during Lebanon’s civil war, dealt a major blow to the existing Christian opposition and its hopes of securing strong representation in the new 128-seat parliament and charting a course away from Syrian influence.
The polls, being held over four weekends ending on June 19, are the first without the presence of Syrian troops for three decades and are set to usher in an assembly with an anti-Syrian majority for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war. But Aoun’s win could complicate the new political landscape in already highly factionalized Lebanon as it boosts the chances of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud staying in power. Aoun has questioned opposition demands for Lahoud to go.
Unofficial final results showed Aoun-backed candidates won 15 of 16 seats up for grabs in Sunday’s third round of the polls in the Maronite Christian heartland northeast of Beirut.
There was no Aoun-allied candidate running for the last seat, won by the opposition’s Pierre Gemayel.
Aoun, who launched a failed “war of liberation” against Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1989, was forced into exile after the Syrians crushed his revolt in 1990.
He spent 14 years in France before returning in May, two weeks after Syrian troops left. In exile, he lobbied for international pressure to force Syria out, claiming some credit for a September 2004 U.N. resolution demanding a withdrawal.
SYRIAN PULLOUT
Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April after international pressure and popular street protests sparked by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Aoun’s supporters say he is untainted by years of corruption among Lebanese politicians while Syria held sway after the civil war and accuse rivals of trying to contain his influence. He fell out with other anti-Syrian leaders after returning.
“I believe it is a victory because all political forces sided together against us,” said Aoun, vowing to fight corruption which he blames for Lebanon’s economic problems.
“The opposition has no program, it has nothing,” he said.
International creditors who have helped Lebanon cope with its $33.9 billion public debt have demanded that the country must enact financial reforms.
Aoun-backed candidates narrowly lost to opponents supported by Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt in the Baabda-Aley district, where 11 seats were contested.
Jumblatt’s candidates won all eight seats in his mainly Druze mountain stronghold of Shouf.
He accused Aoun of being used by Syria and its Lebanese allies to divide and weaken the Christians.
“We are back to 1976 when the Syrians entered Lebanon with the pretext of protecting the Christians, but their first and last intention was to control Lebanon. We went 28 years backwards,” Jumblatt told Lebanon’s LBC television.
The pro-Syrian Shi’ite Hizbollah guerrilla group and its allies increased their share in parliament with 10 candidates winning seats in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel district. The alliance now has 35 seats in the assembly.
One issue expected to face the new assembly is disarmament of Hizbollah.
Hariri’s son suffered a setback in Zahle, a mainly Christian constituency in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where he has no traditional base. But candidates backed by Saad al-Hariri won all six seats in a mainly Sunni Bekaa constituency.
International concern over alleged Syrian intelligence activity in Lebanon cast a shadow over the elections.
U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan decided last week to send a verification team back to Lebanon to check charges that Syrian intelligence agents were still in the country. U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday.
The United States says it has information about a Syrian hit list targeting Lebanese leaders. Syria denies the charge.
