Lebanon’s Aoun, Jumblatt set for electoral battle
Political sources said the talks failed because Aoun wanted to select candidates for non-Maronite seats, while Jumblatt would only let him name contestants for the two Maronite seats. Aley-Baabda, which has a roughly equal number of Maronite and Druze voters, as well as some Shi’ites, is one of 14 constituencies where elections will be held May 29-June 19. The electoral confrontation shatters the unity of the anti-Syrian opposition which had together staged huge street protests demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Aoun has said he and his followers will run for the 128-seat parliament with or without an alliance with Hariri and Jumblatt.
May 24, 2005