BEIRUT (Aztag)–The Lebanese-Armenian community overwhelmingly chose to side with and vote for the United Armenian Bloc slate of candidates during Sunday’s second round of parliamentary elections–when former prime minister and Sunni Muslim leader Rafik Hariri’s political machine registered a victory by outnumbering all the other minorities in the race.
The official results of the elections were released Monday–following which the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Central Committee of Lebanon issued an announcement–through which the Armenian participation was outlined. The announcement also articulated the ARF Central Committee’s position on the elections.
"Independent of official results–we affirm that in all electoral districts Armenia’s overwhelmingly voted for the candidates of the United Armenian Bloc–thus clearly establishing that the Lebanese-Armenian community continues to give its vote of confidence to the policies and organizations which represent its interests and aspirations," declared the Central Committee in its announcement.
The ARF leadership body explained that during first round of elections in Metn and Zahle on August 27–the United Armenian Bloc candidates received 90 percent of the Armenian vote–while in Sunday’s vote in Beirut and the surrounding regions–the Bloc received more than 80 percent of the Armenian votes.
In Beirut’s first district–the United Armenian Bloc received 3,046 votes from the community–while in the second district–the bloc received 1,574 votes–and in the third district the slate received 6,366 votes.
In Beirut’s first district 253 Armenian voted for the Hariri’s slate of candidates–while in the second and third districts 422 and 1,405 Armenian voted for the former prime minister’s bloc respectively.
In the three districts combined–the United Armenian Bloc received 10,986 Armenian votes (84 percent)–while the Hariri slate received only 2,080 Armenian votes (16 percent).
The Central Committee–in its announcement–praised the efforts of the election committee volunteers and members and congratulated them on their weeks of campaigning for the United Bloc.
In conclusion–the ARF Central Committee extended its congratulations to the newly elected parliament members and called for the continued preservation of democratic norms and tolerance toward other communities.