After two humdrum rounds of legislative elections, Lebanon is poised for a heated contest Sunday that could determine whether an anti-Syrian coalition will muster a parliamentary majority and maintain momentum to thrust the country into a new era.In the most critical round of a four-phase election, Christian and Muslim voters in the central Mount Lebanon region and the eastern Bekaa Valley will decide on nearly half of the 128 seats in Parliament. At stake domestically, is the new legislature’s ability to dislodge remnants of Syrian control, after a 29-year military presence, from key institutions including the Presidency. Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon this spring, but the country continues to wield considerable influence. ‘‘Syria is out of our geography, but not out of our politics or the region’s geopolitics,’’ Rafik Khoury, a columnist with the Al Anwar daily newspaper said in an interview. ‘‘The difference is that a year ago, we were on a death row. Now our sentence has been reduced to a one- or two-year prison term.’’ Also at stake will be the legislature’s ability to maintain a fragile national unity movement and push through political and economic reform. Regionally, Lebanon could emerge as a showcase for progress through democratic means, for which the United States could be credited for playing a constructive role. The elections have gained urgency since the assassination on June 2 of Samir Kassir, a journalist who championed a years-long crusade against Syrian involvement.The electoral drama has been fuelled by allegations from some opposition and US officials that Syria has developed a hit list targetting senior Lebanese political figures in an attempt to regain control. ‘‘We have received tips on these threats from our own sources in Syria as well as Arab and some Western sources,’’ said Marwan Hamadeh, a former minister. On one side is Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon’s small Druze community and a long time power broker whose alliance with Hariri’s son, Saad, is expected to dominate the next Parliament. Hariri, campaigning from behind bullet-proof glass shields, has travelled to northern towns and mixed Shiite-Sunni Muslim townships in the Bekaa Valley to draw support for allied candidates. That coalition will lock horns with candidates allied with Michel Aoun, a retired general who has allied himself with pro-Syrian politicians. Aoun, a Christian, returned from exile in France last month at the request of Jumblatt, Hariri and Christian politicians seeking more religious balance in the campaign. Aoun has since broken ranks with the opposition, determined to position himself for the Presidency. Aoun’s move splintered the Christian vote and deprived the opposition of the religious diversity manifested on March 14, when more than 1 million Lebanese gathered in a peaceful demonstration and a show of unprecedented national unity after Hariri’s assassination. —LAT-WP
