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.

Central Bank: Lebanon’s debt rises $1 billion

Lebanon’s total public debt rose to the equivalent of $33.9 billion by the end of February from $32.9 billion a month earlier, the Central Bank said in its monthly bulletin.

External public debt comprised $18.99 billion of the total. However, banking sources estimate the debt now stands at $35 billion. In official figures also released Saturday, the bank said Lebanon recorded a $777.4 million balance of payments deficit in the first two months of 2005, compared with a surplus of $203 million in the same period last year. It recorded a $784.6 million deficit in February alone. Banque du Liban said the deficit reflected a drop in its net foreign assets but an increase in those of banks and financial institutions.

German attorney to head Hariri investigation

A German prosecutor has been named by the UN to lead an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, after the first two candidates for the job backed out.

Detlev Mehlis, the senior public prosecutor in the Berlin attorney general’s office, has overseen terrorism and organized crime cases as well as investigations into trans-national crime, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement.

The Security Council approved the probe into Hariri’s February 14 assassination on April 8, but the first two candidates turned down the job, UN officials said. The investigation is expected to include more than 50 people, administrative and security staff are also expected to be included in the investigation.

Preparations for Lebanon polls gather steam

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon began the countdown for legislative polls, with 51 candidates, including the son of slain former premier Rafiq Hariri, competing for 19 seats in Beirut in the first phase of the vote, the interior ministry said.

The vote in Beirut’s three districts will be held on May 29, and will continue over the rest of the country on the following three Sundays to choose a 128-seat parliament — the first since a Syrian troop pullout last month ended 29 years of domination.

Individual candidates in Beirut had until midnight Friday to register and political party leaders are now expected to announce their electoral lists following consultations.

Saad Hariri postpones announcing candidates list for third time
Further consultations to be held

BEIRUT: Saad Hariri, the son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, stated that the announcement of his Beirut candidates’ list will be postponed once more for the sake of national unity. Hariri, who was speaking at an electoral rally held at the Beirut Development Association in Verdun Thursday night, also reaffirmed his pledge to preserving harmony and consensus among all Lebanese.

He said: “If [Rafik] Hariri has given his blood, then we can sacrifice one or two days before announcing the list for the sake of national unity and the people who participated in the March 14 demonstration.”

He stressed the importance of preserving the achievement of unity which was attained during the March 14 unity rally.

Mikati raises possibility of electoral law changes

Announcement made after Sfeir meeting

By Majdoline Hatoum

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati insisted parliamentary elections will begin on time this month but added some amendments could still be made to the controversial legal framework for the polls.

Following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, who has condemned the 2000 electoral law under which the elections will take place for failing to properly represent Lebanon’s Christians, Mikati, said: “We will assess the possibility of reconsidering the electoral law of 2000, perhaps introducing amendments to some electoral districts.”

Violence flares on Israeli border ahead of key Lebanon polls

KFARSHOUBA, Lebanon (AFP) – Violence flared on Lebanon’s border with Israel for the first time in four months as preparations quickened for parliamentary elections in two weeks’ time.

The Friday 13th flare-up underlined the dangers of a power vacuum in Lebanon after Syria ended its 29-year troop deployment last month, with the anti-Syrian opposition fracturing amid 11th-hour bickering over the constituency boundaries for the elections.

An Israeli military spokeswoman reported no fewer than nine explosions near Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms district.