Lebanon elections set today

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Candidates loyal to Lebanon’s assassinated former premier posted campaign billboards bearing his picture, hoping a wave of sympathy will bring them to power in Lebanon’s first elections in decades that are free from Syrian domination.

Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s son and political successor will likely be the main benefactor of the vote in four-stage elections beginning today. Hariri’s killing, which sparked protests that forced Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, appears to be the driving force.

But the legacy of Syria’s 29-year military and political control of its smaller neighbor has not shaped up to be a major campaign issue. Syrian troops are gone, and it seems they were quickly forgotten.

Groups united in the vocal opposition to Syrian control after Hariri’s killing in February are widely expected to win a majority in the next Parliament. Syria was accused by the opposition of having a hand in the assassination, a charge Damascus has denied.

Lebanon’s long-awaited legislative elections – to begin today in Beirut and in other regions over three Sundays – are seen as a chance to seal the end of Syria’s political dominance after the last of its forces left in April.

Hariri loyalists are determined to carry out his agenda of opposing extremism and rebuilding the country.