ARMENIAN COMMUNITY TO HAVE 6 SEATS AT NEWLY-ELECTED PARLIAMENT OF LEBANON

Noyan Tapan
June 9, 2009

BEIRUT, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Parliamentary elections
were held in Lebanon on June 7, which ended by the victory of the
leading bloc of the country March 14. According to the preliminary
data, pro-western March 14 bloc took 70 of 128 seats of Lebanese
parliament keeping the majority.

According to the Masis weekly, the March 8 movement, which led the
pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian Hisb Alah party, was defeated.

Armenian parties running for the elections were also divided into
these two fronts. The Social-Democratic Hnchakian and Ramkavar
Azatakan parties ran for the elections as a member of March 14,
and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation as a member of March 8.

The March 14 forces took all five seats of the capital of Lebanon
Beirut’s first electoral district. In this electoral district in
the struggle carried out for two Armenian seats Serge Tursargisian
nominated from the Hnchakian party defeated the ARFD candidate Greguar
Galust, and Jan Oghasapian nominated from the Ramkavar party defeated
ARFD candidate Vrej Sapunjian.

Hnchakian party candidate Sepuh Galpagian and ARFD candidate
Artur Nazarian won at Beirut’s second electoral district having no
competitor. In Metny region, which includes Burj Hamud’s Armenian
districts, the only nominated candidate from ARFD, Hakob Bagratunian
was elected.

In Zahle electoral district, which included Armenian Aynchar village,
the representatives of March 14 again won, and in the struggle for
the only Armenian seat Nshan Chinchinian, who has the support of
the Hnchakian party, defeated the present member of parliament,
ARFD member George Qasarji.

Thus, two of six seats intended for Armenians at the parliament of
Lebanon fell to the Hnchakian party, two to the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, one to the Ramkavar party and one to non-partisan Nshan
Chinchinian.