For those with the attention span and a view of history somewhat longer than the Gay Mardis Gras...
...evetns will unfold that will demonstrate the upside
Voting starts in the Lebanese capital
Saturday 28 May 2005, 18:13 Makka Time, 15:13 GMT
The polls will be held under international supervision
Lebanese began voting in Beirut with the son of slain former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri set to triumph in the first general election in three decades with no Syrian troops in the country.
The polls mark a new era for Lebanon, taking place just a month after Christians and Muslims united in unprecedented protests that forced Damascus to bow to international pressure and end its 29-year military presence.
Armed police and soldiers guarded polling stations that opened across the capital at 7am. More than 400,000 people are eligible to vote in Beirut to choose 19 representatives to the 128-seat parliament.
The four-stage polls are the first since Syria in April ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon.
Foreign observers
For the first time, foreign observers will monitor Lebanon's polls, with a team of more than 100 led by the European Union.
"The election is a special democratic accomplishment after the developments Lebanon has witnessed since the assassination of Hariri," Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday.
