LEBANON: Voters go to the polls in south Lebanon tomorrow in the second phase of parliamentary elections with the country rattled by the murder of a prominent anti-Syrian journalist.
A slate led by Syria's allies Hizbullah and Amal groups looks assured of victory in the Shia Muslim heartland bordering Israel, but the killing of columnist Samir Kassir on Thursday has again raised the stakes at the polls.
The disparate anti-Syrian opposition put some of its differences aside to join voices in blaming Syria and its security allies for the killing and called for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus.
Several opposition figures said his resignation would be the new parliament's main task after the elections.The opposition called for a gathering at a crossroads leading to President Lahoud's palace on Monday "to declare the responsibility of the chief of the Lebanese-Syrian security regime for the series of assassinations".
President Lahoud and Syria have denied any role in Kassir's death. Opposition factions are set to win a majority in the 128-member assembly, buoyed by stunning political victories and public sympathy since the February assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Large protests by Christians, Sunnis and Druze in Beirut forced Syria to submit to international pressure and end its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April.
Lebanon's pro-Syrian government and security chiefs were also toppled. But electoral horse-trading and political bickering in recent weeks have shattered the unity of the opposition, with factions clashing with each other and allying themselves with different pro-Syrian groups to the dismay of many Lebanese.
The opposition called for a general strike yesterday to mourn Kassir, but the call was largely ignored.
Scores of journalists and politicians, holding up pens, held a silent hour-long sit-in at central Beirut's main square.
The United States asked the UN Security Council yesterday to expand an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to include the killing of Samir Kassir.
The White House stopped short of directly blaming Syria and its Lebanese security allies for the journalist's death, but said Damascus had created "an environment of political repression."