Vote Count Under Way in Lebanon's Parliamentary Election
By VOA News
07 June 2009
Vote counting is under way in Lebanon in a parliamentary election contested by a pro-Western coalition and a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.
Lebanese Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud says voter turnout in Sunday's election was at least 52 percent, exceeding the 45 percent figure for the last parliamentary election in 2005.
The first election results are expected late Sunday.
Security was tight, with about 50,000 soldiers and police deployed across the country to prevent violence. Some supporters of the rival camps engaged in brawls, but no major incidents were reported.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and its allies are hoping to reverse the pro-Western coalition's small majority in the 128-member outgoing parliament.
Hezbollah joined the Lebanese Cabinet last year in a power-sharing deal to end fighting between supporters of the two camps.
The agreement gave Hezbollah veto power over decisions made the by the outgoing Cabinet, which is dominated by pro-Western parties.
The turnout for Sunday's election was high for Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of the 3.2 million eligible voters live abroad. Many Lebanese expatriates flew in to the country to vote, some taking advantage of free flights offered by major parties.
Some voters complained of having to wait several hours to cast a ballot.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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