Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high in the mountains Sunday to vote in an election. The race for the 128-member parliament will set Lebanon's political course for the next four years. A steady stream of vehicles headed south, north or east from Beirut to outlying parts of the country early Sunday, a weekend here, carrying voters to hometowns, Associated Press reported. Voters lined up outside polling stations in government buildings and public schools across the country after polls opened. There are some 3.2 million eligible voters out of a population of 4 million. Early unofficial returns were expected late Sunday and official results as early as Monday afternoon. Army troops in armored carriers and in trucks took up positions on major highways to ensure peaceful voting. Authorities have deployed some 50,000 soldiers and police. President Michel Suleiman was among the early voters, casting his ballot in his hometown of Amchit on the coast north of Beirut. «Democracy is a blessing that distinguishes Lebanon in the Middle East, and we must preserve it,» he told reporters. Scores of foreign observers, including former President Jimmy Carter, will monitor the vote.
