You won’t read this in the New York Times:
The Saudi/US sponsored March 14 coalition in Lebanon won the parliamentary election, by getting 71 out of 128 seats (gaining +1), but lost the popular vote on election day by a margin of 45.2% to 54.8%. (via Friday Lunch Club).
The “March 8 Coalition” between the Shi’ite parties Hezbollah and Amal, the Christian FPM party and a few others received 839,371 votes, whereas the “March 14 Coalition” between the Sunni Al Mustaqbal party, the Christian Lebanese Forces, the Druze PSP and a few others, received 692,285 votes.
How can this be you ask? Well it has to do with Lebanon’s bizarro sectarian election quotas, which massively under-represent Shi’a voters and over-represent Christian voters.
(These numbers also give you an idea just how small this messy Lilliput really is…).
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Zahle was expected to go to March 8 (and FPM) but instead it was announced that all seven seats went to March 14.
Zahle a small but central town in the Bekka is becoming a center piece in the battle between March 14 and March 8. The district of Zahle holds seven seats (two Greek Catholic, one Sunni, one Shia, one Greek Othordox, one Armenian Orthodox and a Maronite seat). The Greek Catholic dominate Zahle and what is making Zahle so interesting is that some of the population are finding it difficult to reconcile politics with tradition.
Now Lebanon – Latest Nieuws
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Oh, come on! The weirdities of Lebanese politics has nothing to do with it. Liberals and progressives alike are crowing that it was Obama’s speech that brought about Hezballah’s defeat and the victory of the pro-American coalition.
It’s ALL about America. Don’t you guys know that yet? OBAMA won the Lebanese election.