Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs: Who is Jeffrey Feltman?
Sunday, June 14, 2009

 

In taking over the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Jeffrey D. Feltman is no stranger to the issues and key players of the region, having spent much of his Foreign Service career in diplomatic posts in Israel and Lebanon. Feltman is also a polarizing figure, as far as Syria and Hezbollah are concerned, after having dealt with him as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon during the second half of the Bush administration.

عدد الأقلام المفرزة: 121\149
 
عدد الأصوات المفرزة: 45884\60336
 
عدد الأصوات: 31387
 
مرشح لمقعد: ماروني 5
 

كسروان

عدد الأقلام المفرزة: 121\149
 
عدد الأصوات المفرزة: 45884\60336
 
عدد البلدات: 69
 
عدد المقاعد: 5
 

   معدل أصوات لائحة التغيير والاصلاح
  معدل أصوات لائحة الموالاة 
 
 
   ادما والدفنه  
 
   163  
 
   89  
 
 
   اغبة  
 
   60  
 
   101  
 
 
   بوار  
 
   567  
 
   676  
 
 
   حصين  
 
   237  
 
   34  
 
 
   زعيتره  
 
   0  
 
   0  
 
 
   صفرا  
 
   609  
 
   233  
 
 
   عبرا وشان  
 
   67  
 
   163  
 
 
   عذره والعذر  
 
   172  
 
   216  
 
 
   عقيبة  
 
   262  
 
   198   
 
 

March 14 coalition retains majority after parliamentary elections
Opposition source concedes defeat, accepts ‘will of people’
By Mirella Hodeib
Daily Star staff
Monday, June 08, 2009

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s opposition conceded defeat against the March 14 coalition in pivotal polls Sunday after weeks of fierce campaigning. "We’ve lost the election," a senior opposition source, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. "We accept the result as the will of the people." "We’ll go back to the way we were," the source added.

The opposition source said the March 14 coalition is expected to ensure between 69 and 70 seats in the 128 parliament.  The number matches figures predicted by the March 14 Forces.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt on Sunday warned the March 14 Forces against "isolating the other party."

The 2009 electoral battle centered in Christian districts, since the results of almost 100 seats of the assembly were decided in advance.

As The Daily Star went to press, unofficial results showed the March 14 Forces won by a clean sweep the districts of Beirut I, Batroun, Koura, and Bsharreh, and Tripoli.

According to unofficial results, Prime Minster Fouad Siniora won a parliamentary seat in the coastal city of Sidon. 

Preliminary results also showed the March 14 Forces as having a chance to win the Bekaa town of Zahle’s seven seats.

According to unofficial results, the Free Patriotic Movement won all seats in the districts of Kesrouan, Jbeil, Baabda and Jezzine. 

The results of another decisive district, Metn were still unclear at dawn on Sunday. 

Kesrouaun turnout of 70 percent highest in country
By Therese Sfeir
Daily Star staff
Monday, June 08, 2009

KESROUAN: Kesrouan witnessed the highest turnout in the parliamentary elections on Sunday, with the participation rate in the district reaching 70 percent. Residents of Kesrouan-Ftouh started to gather at polling stations at 6 a.m. Sunday under tight security measures.

Two lists battled for the five Maronite seats in Kesrouan. The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) headed by retired General Michel Aoun ran against a list formed by the March 14 Forces and Independents.

The FPM list included Aoun, Farid Elias Khazen, Youssef Khalil, Gilberte Zwein and Neamatallah Abi Nasr, all of whom represented Kesrouan in the Parliament that was elected in 2005.

The March 14 Forces and Independents’ list included former MPs Farid Haykal Khazen, Mansour Bon and Fares Boueiz, the president of the National Liberal Party Carlos Edde and journalist Sejaan Azzi.

Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud cast his ballot in the town of Jeita.

Addressing reporters afterward, he said that competition was a "sign of healthy elections."

After casting his ballot in the town of Mayrouba, Reform and Change MP Youssef Khalil expressed his satisfaction with the electoral process in general, but complained about delays and some obstructions facing voters.

He also urged Baroud to ask staff at polling stations to "speed up the electoral process, taking into consideration the massive participation of voters."

Khalil added that the election process would likely extend into the evening hours at "most of the stations as the participation rate is very high, which is very positive."

Kesrouaun turnout of 70 percent highest in country
By Therese Sfeir
Daily Star staff
Monday, June 08, 2009

Lebanon Moderates Turn Attention

BEIRUT — After widening its majority in weekend parliamentary elections, a Western-backed coalition here now must form a new government, a task almost a fraught as the election itself.

The March 14 movement won 71 seats in Lebanon’s 128-seat body, increasing its parliamentary hold by one. The opposition came away with 57 seats, according to official results released by the interior ministry Monday afternoon. Many pollsters had expected the opposition to make gains–if not capture an outright majority– because of redistricting since the last polling in 2005.

From Washington and across the Middle East, the vote was seen as a proxy battle between the influence of the West and its Arab allies on one side, and Iran and Syria on the other. But the smooth formation of a new government here could be a more important test of March 14’s political strength.

Saad Hariri, the son of slain Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and leader of March 14, has said he plans to invite the opposition into the next government. But he and his allies want to remove the veto power the opposition now wields over most government policy.

Reuters) – The economy of Lebanon, which held a parliamentary election on Sunday, has shown what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described as "remarkable resilience" in the face of the global financial crisis.

Following are some of the economy’s main features:

GROWTH

The economy grew more than 8 percent in 2008 according to the IMF, despite a first half marred by the worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war and the onset of the global financial crisis. Policymakers project growth of 4 percent or more in 2009.

HEFTY PUBLIC DEBT

Lebanon’s public debt burden is one of the heaviest in the world at around 162 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), much of it incurred as a result of reconstruction after the civil war. The debt was measured at $47.21 billion in February, around 44 percent of it in foreign currency, according to the finance ministry. The government has cited progress in reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 162 percent from around 180 percent in 2006. Moody’s recently upgraded Lebanon’s sovereign ratings, citing a substantial improvement in its external liquidity and the proven resistance of public finances to shocks. The state’s deficit for 2009 is projected at around 12 percent of GDP.