Electoral Campaign in Lebanon Commences

The Daily Star

At the same time, the ten days of electoral campaign before the first polls take place, commenced. The Minister of Interior, Ziad Baroud, today announced that the government will spend about $4 million in the preparation of the elections. Among other things, around 14,000 polling stations will be set up and some 10,000 troops will be deployed to ensure security throughout the electoral month.

These elections are completely unrelated to the legislative elections of June 2009 and the election campaign looks very different. Major national issues such as weapons pertaining to Hezbollah or the country’s relationship with Syria are not at all prominent. Instead, in these elections family and clientelar relationships prevail.