Voters went to the polls Sunday in former Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon's first municipal and mayoral elections in 38 years, said reports.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and were to remain open until 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) across the region, freed in May last year from 22 years of Israeli occupation, amid a heavy deployment of police forces and army troops, reported AFP and the official Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA).
Some 115 towns and cities will elect new municipal councils and mayors for the first time since 1963.
The rest of the country went to the polls in 1998, nearly a decade after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war ended, but the south did not have the chance because it was still under Israeli occupation.
Israeli troops pulled out in May 2000, harried by fighters from the Shiite groups of Hizbollah and Amal, both of which have long vied for the leadership of the Shiite community -- Lebanon's largest.
The elections includes 115 liberated villages in the south and al-Nabatiye districts, where 219,551 voters participated in this event, to choose 64 municipal councils, that include 793 members, and 199 governors, said the official Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA).
Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Murr carried out a tour in the area to inspect election procedures. Murr asserted on the flow of operations, and praised security bodies for facilitating the voting process.
Security bodies participating included the Lebanese army and interior security forces (almost 5000 members).
He said that once the elections are final, municipalities will be funded to carry out basic procedures, in villages that have been abandoned for the past 38 years.
Meanwhile, a security source told KUNA that election headquarters witnessed a noticeable turnout in all stations.
Sources added that Jezzin town is witnessing a noticeable turnout of voters, as they elect for 18 members, of two bills, "a better tomorrow bill" supported by Sameer Azar, and Kamil Fareed Sarhal, against the "solidarity and service bill" supported by former MPs, Admon Rizq and Fawzi al-Asmar – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
