BEIRUT, 17 June 2007 — The Beirut government yesterday called by-elections to fill the parliamentary seats of two assassinated anti-Syrian legislators, opening a new front in Lebanon’s worst political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
The government called by-elections for Aug. 5 to replace Walid Eido, who was killed this week by a car bomb, and Pierre Gemayel, who was shot dead in November, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after a meeting of the anti-Syrian Cabinet.
President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Damascus, had declared yesterday’s Cabinet session illegal along with any decisions made by it. This suggests he will not approve the voting in the Beirut and nearby Metn districts.
But the governing coalition says it will press on with the elections even if Lahoud does not give the presidential approval required by the constitution. “Our decision is to hold the elections,” Aridi said.
Lahoud has 15 days to approve the Cabinet decree calling the by-elections. Political sources say a move by the Cabinet to hold the elections without Lahoud’s approval might encourage him to appoint a new Cabinet, leaving Lebanon with two governments.
The assassination of Eido, killed with nine other people on Wednesday, reduced the majority of the anti-Damascus coalition to four. The governing coalition, which has strong US backing, won its majority in elections following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
Syria was forced to pull out of Lebanon owing to international pressure and mass protests after the Feb. 14, 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri’s allies and many other Lebanese blame his killing on Damascus. Syria denies involvement in the killing of Hariri and other anti-Syrian figures including Eido, a Sunni Muslim lawmaker in Beirut, and Gemayel, who was a Maronite Christian legislator and a Cabinet minister.
Lebanon’s political system guarantees representation for the country’s array of religious communities by allocating government posts and parliamentary seats on the basis of sect.
Lahoud and the opposition say the Cabinet lost its legitimacy in November when ministers from Hezbollah and Amal quit, stripping the government of all its Shiite representation.
Hezbollah and Amal, which represent the vast majority of Lebanon’s Shiites, are allied with Syria.
