MURR THROWS METN ELECTION RESULTS INTO DOUBT

NaharNet
June 16 2009
Lebanon

MP Michel Murr on Tuesday was skeptical over the Metn election results,
wondering where all those additional 4,000 Armenian votes came from.

"I wonder where the increase in number of voters came from and whether
Armenians voted with the fake IDs uncovered by the interior ministry,"
Murr asked during a press conference.

Murr revealed that the number of Armenians who voted in Metn
for Camille Khoury and Amin Gemayel in 2007 was 9,200 with full
mobilization of voters.

Murr said that according to MP Hagop Pakradounian the number of
Armenian voters in 2009 reached 13,700 in Metn while only 9,300 voters
were supposed to have cast their ballots.

"This raised suspicion given the increase in the number of Armenian
voters by more than 4,000," Murr argued.

He said the "suspicious Armenian votes" affected outcome of the Metn
poll, adding that contacts with Tashnag cease to exist for now.

Murr criticized Tashnag for pledging to vote for him during polls,
"but a day ahead of elections it succumbed to pressure form MP Michel
Aoun and others."

He demanded that the interior ministry, the general prosecution and
the constitutional council cancel the fake votes "which exceeded the
normal Armenian voting rate."

The Metn MP said his "Salvation" electoral list will contest the
elections once documents required for the appeal are completed.

Murr pointed that in the event controversy over the election fraud
story was settled, the result would be six winners from his list and
one from Aoun’s.

Turning to father Elias Akari of the Syriac Orthodox church without
naming him, Murr said: "Let the judiciary take its course. I don’t
want to go into stories fabricated by this small broker."

An audio tape broadcast on Aoun’s OTV said to be from Murr in which
he threatened Syriac Akari by making use of his son’s position as
defense minister has sparked tension.

Murr had filed a lawsuit with the Prosecutor’s General Office against
OTV, accusing it of forgery, usage of forged documentation as well
as instigating hatred.

The Archbishopric of Mount Lebanon for the Syriac Orthodox Church has
also filed a lawsuit against father Akari, accusing him of embezzlement
and stealing of money as well as of fabrication, forgery and bribery.

On the new government, Murr said he supports the nomination of MP
Saad Hariri for the premiership and Speaker Nabih Berri for the
speaker’s post.