Saad Al-Hariri wins 8 seats in Beirut
Nearly two weeks before the elections begin, and Saad Al-Hariri has already won nearly half of the Parliamentary seats in Beirut.
The shock came after all the other candidates in those seats withdrew to make way for the Hariri ticket, handing him the win by default. Voters will now not go to polls in nearly half of Beirut.
Saad is the son of slain former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, who was killed by a massive roadside bomb in Beirut three months ago. Saad is expected to pick up on the huge wave of sympathy and win a landslide in the May/June Election.
His opponents quit after he declared his candidacy on Sunday. They'll now get a refund of half of their $7000 election fee.
Meanwhile arch foes and Lebanese warlords Michel Aoun and Samir Jaja made a pact through Jaja's prison bars today. They agreed to work together to pick up votes. The last time these two men tried to get power, the fight between Aoun's men and Jaja's men killed thousands of Lebanese civilians.