From: ayman@eecs.umich.edu (Ayman I. Kayssi)
Subject: Speaker of Lebanon's Parliament urged to reconsider resignation
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 92 13:56:24 EDT
Organization: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

[ Article crossposted without permission ]
[ Author was UPI ]
[ Posted on Tue, 25 Aug 92 9:57:06 PDT ]

	BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- The Cabinet and many lawmakers appealed
Tuesday for Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini to reconsider his
resignation in the wake of a surprise election victory by the pro-
Iranian Hezbollah organization.
	The speaker of Parliament, accusing the pro-Iranian group of massive
election fraud, resigned Monday after the Hezbollah claimed victory in
the initial round of voting in Lebanon's first general elections since
1972.
	Husseini, the apparent loser among a list of 10 candidates who ran
against Hezbollah in Sunday's vote in Baalbeck, cited reports from his
own backers and journalists that Hezbollah gunmen seized collection
boxes from voting booths and inserted their own ballots.
	Information Minister Michel Samaha, reading a Cabinet statement
Tuesday, said the Council of Ministers regretted Husseini's resignation
and praised his ``nationalistic role to preserve Lebanon's unity.''
	The Cabinet also discussed reports about massive voting fraud in the
first phase of the general elections, which took place in eastern and
northern Lebanon on Sunday. Initial results indicated an overwhelming
victory for the Hezbollan candidates in the Baalbeck-Hermal area.
	Samaha said the Cabinet would convene Wednesday to discuss the
postponement of the election's second phase Aug. 30 in Beirut and Mount
Lebanon and third phase Sept. 6 in southern Lebanon.
	Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz said he proposed the polls be postponed
for at least three weeks in order to open the door for more nominations,
thus allowing the Christian opposition to take part. Boueiz said if the
government does not approve his proposal he will resign.
	The Christian camp, led by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir,
boycotted the balloting on the grounds that Syria's military presence in
the country might lead to election fraud in favor of an overwhelming
majority of pro-Syrian candidates.
	Sunday's elections proved Christian fears baseless. Hezbollah's
initial victory and the defeat of Husseini's candidates as well as Roy
Hrawi, son of President Elias Hrawi, came contrary to all expectations.
	Meeting at the Parliament, some 25 deputies urged Husseini to
withdraw his resignation and cancel the elections.
	House Vice-President Michel Maalouli affirmed that the ``elections
were forged and some practices did not allow the citizens to chose their
true representatives to the Parliament.''
	But Interior Minister Samir Khatib, who assigned a special committee
to investigate Husseini's accusations, said there was no fraud in the
elections, although he admitted that some irregularities have occurred.
	In the eastern city of Baalbeck, vote counting continued for the
third consecutive day and official results were expected starting
Wednesday.

--
Ayman I. Kayssi                               |    ayman@eecs.umich.edu
EECS Department                               +------------------------
University of Michigan                        |          (313) 764-8033