Voting for new Middle East order

Nicolas Rothwell , May 22, 2005 , The Australian

WHEN Lebanese voters go to the polls this weekend in the first phase of their country's parliamentary elections, the impact will resonate far beyond the avenues of rebuilt Beirut and the souks of Tripoli.

The voting system may be imperfect, the campaigning may be centred on the creation of alliances of convenience, but this election marks the democratic end game of a remarkable popular revolution.

The effect upon neighbouring Syria, which has just completed its reluctant troop withdrawal from Lebanese soil, will be profound, while the remainder of the Arab world may once more begin to take its political lead from Lebanon.

For the US and France, the two half-declared international sponsors of the Lebanese uprising, the successful outcome of their pressure campaign on Syria suggests that persuasive diplomacy may trump force as a weapon in the struggle to promote Middle Eastern reform.

And for Israel, Lebanon's southern neighbour and former occupier, the end of the era of virtual Syrian control may once more raise hopes of a comprehensive peace with the next government in Beirut.

Lebanese unity erodes before poll

Rania Abouzeid, May 22, 2005

AS the clock ticks down to Lebanon's parliamentary elections, which start on Sunday, political infighting and sectarian suspicions have eroded the national unity forged after the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in February.

Hariri's slaying and the massive street protests that followed brought down Beirut's pro-Syrian government and