Daily Star – Lebanon, Lebanon
May 30 2005

Beirut polls leave some with sour taste
A common complaint: Saad Hariri’s victory was too predictable

By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

BEIRUT: While Saad Hariri’s clean sweep of all 19 seats in Beirut
didn’t come as much of a surprise to the majority of Beirutis, it has
left some with a sour taste in their mouths.

Mohammad Basiri, 45, said: “It wasn’t much of an election as it was
just one plate being served; Hariri sprinkled with what would seem to
be a representative group of spices.”

Basiri supports the Ahbash group, a fundamental Sunni group whose
candidates were among the many who failed to defeat Hariri’s lists.

Basiri didn’t vote, and said he won’t until he sees a real change in
Lebanese elections where “all candidates have a fair run.”

He added: “No more lists under one name. That is not democracy, and
the small voter turnout is a reflection of the disappointment of
people in the Lebanese elections.”

Basiri was one of a few Ahbash followers who agreed to give his name,
while others interviewed held their tongue, citing fear of “being
attacked by Hariri supporters.”

Security was tight around Al-Dewan supermarket – a vendor frequented
by Ahbash members – with army troops on guard after witnesses
reported clashes Sunday night between young supporters of Ahbash and
Hariri.

Yet some areas in Beirut, such as Bourj Hammoud, appeared to have
been untouched by the elections.

The predominantly Armenian neighborhood’s Tashnag Party had called
for a boycott of the elections due to the adoption of a disputed
electoral law.

As a result Bourj Hammoud seemed stark naked in comparison to the
other Armenian neighborhoods in the capital painted in Hariri posters
and those of his candidates.

Rita, a 43-year-old Armenian merchant, said: “Our voices are not
heard anyway, so why vote?”

She added: “Sadly, I don’t see much of a difference after the Syrians
left. It is the same people in power and the same people running the
show; no new faces or any changes,” recalling the 1992 election was
the “fairest, as we got to pick who we wanted.”

Meanwhile, for those who supported Hariri’s list, Monday was a day
for celebration.

Mirna Terk, 24, was one of the demonstrators at Martyrs’ Square
calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops after the assassination
of Rafik Hariri. She hit the streets once more Sunday night, but this
time to cheer his son’s decisive victory.

She said: “Hariri’s is a well known and respected family, and so I
believe Saad will continue the traditions of his father of rebuilding
and educating those who can’t afford to go to school.”

She added: “All of my friends are celebrating [except for] some of my
Christian classmates who were unhappy with the elections and didn’t
vote and would like the election law to change.”

But other Beirutis, such as 80-year-old retired surgeon Ali Raad,
feel Sunday’s polls should be a lesson for voters “not to take things
for granted.”

Anxiously awaiting the polls in the North, where he is registered,
Raad said: “I am with Saad Hariri like everyone else, but I will be
more selective with the people on his list, as many of them are not
really worthy of my vote.”