Lebanon braces for electoral showdown

Lebanese voters go to the polls today for a parliamentary election showdown between the ruling Western-backed coalition and factions led by the Iranian-backed Hizbollah.

The vote is being held under tight security with 50,000 soldiers and police deployed across the country to prevent violence between the two camps.

More than 200 international observers from the EU, the Carter Centre and other institutions will oversee the election.

Today's vote is being held from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with 3.2 million people eligible to cast their ballot.

At stake is whether the small Mediterranean country continues to enjoy widespread support from the West and Saudi Arabia or whether it tilts more towards Iran if Hizbollah and its allies win.

The US, which considers the Shiite Hizbollah to be a terrorist organisation, has already said that its continued aid to Lebanon hinges on which side emerges victorious.

Analysts and pollsters predict a tight race for the 128-seat parliament with the winner clinching victory by just a few seats.

But they also say that whoever has the upper hand in forming the new government will most probably strike a deal with the opposing camp given Lebanon's power-sharing system.

A handful of key battleground constituencies are likely to be crucial in determining the outcome, with the Christian vote, which is divided between the two camps, set to tip the scale.

Both the current majority and the opposition have poured millions into the campaign, flying in thousands of their constituents from overseas amid expectations that their ballots could be a deciding factor.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said yesterday he was hopeful of a smooth process and warned that voter fraud would not be tolerated after dozens of fake identity cards were seized in several regions.

"We will be diligent at the polling stations and anyone involved in fraud risks prison," he said.