EU poll observers start Lebanon mission

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The European Union's Elections Observation Mission kicked off in Lebanon Monday as 26 observers were deployed to various parts of the country.

"Our election observation mission will be made up of 100 observers. Already 26 long-term monitors were deployed this morning across the country," Mission Chief Jose Ignacio Salafranca of Spain told reporters.   
     
The observers were dispatched to Lebanon as a result of an agreement between the EU and Lebanese government.

Foes unite as Lebanon election campaign kicks off

By Hala Boncompagni , Middle East Times

BEIRUT --  Campaigning kicked off on May 16 for parliamentary elections in Lebanon as former civil war foes formed unlikely political alliances.

The influential head of the Maronite Church, meanwhile, reiterated calls for efforts to ensure that the polls are representative of Lebanon's different sects.

In a move seen by the press as a step toward the first genuine attempt at national reconciliation since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, Druze chief Walid Jumblatt and Sunni leader Saad Al Hariri joined forces with former foes.

Jumblatt and Sitrida Geagea, wife of the jailed leader of the disbanded Lebanese Forces Christian militia, Samir Geagea, have formed an alliance and announced a joint electoral list, pledging to "turn the page on the past".

Lebanon's parliamentary polls kick off with three uncontested seats in Beirut

BEIRUT: Lebanon's parliamentary elections kicked off ahead of schedule over the weekend as three uncontested seats in Beirut returned Druze, Shiite and Maronite MPs ahead of official polls which begin in less than two weeks.

Solange Gemayel, the widow of slain president and Christian warlord Bashir Gemayel, was given  Beirut's only Maronite Christian seat after sitting MP Ghattas Khoury, a member of the parliamentary bloc of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, withdrew to allow her to join the candidate list of Hariri's son, Saad.

The third Maronite candidate, Beirut municipal council member Georges Tyan, also withdrew yesterday morning leaving Gemayel the sole candidate.

Son of Slain Lebanon Leader to Seek Post

By HUSSEIN DAKROUB, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri promised Sunday to achieve his father's plan for a sovereign Lebanon and formally announced a list of candidates for Beirut's 19 parliamentary seats.

In an apparent swipe at Syria, which dominated Lebanon's politics for nearly three decades before withdrawing its troops last month, Saad Hariri told a crowd of hundreds that every vote is a "vote against the criminals who killed Rafik Hariri and tried to enslave Lebanon."

Meanwhile, the Druse leader Walid Jumblatt announced an election coalition with his former civil war enemies, the Lebanese Forces, who were the nation's most powerful Christian militia during the 1975-90 civil war.