The final make up of Lebanon's Parliament will be determined this weekend, when the last 28 parliamentary seats up for grabs in North Lebanon will be decided. Fresh from his election victory in last week's round of elections, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, who was exiled from Lebanon after his "War of Liberation" against Syria in 1990, has joined forces with pro-Syrian politician Suleiman Franjieh in the North where they are fielding two complete lists.Aoun will again do battle with Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition following his failure to reach an agreement to run on their lists last month. The opposition is spearheaded by the Future Movement, led by Saad Hariri, the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the Christian Qornet Shehwan group. Qornet Shehwan member Samir Franjieh, running for a seat in the North, said: "The electoral battle in North Lebanon is decisive because it will determine the state's agenda for the future." Franjieh also expressed fears that an opposition defeat on Sunday would reinforce the role of Syria in Lebanese politics.
| Franjieh seems to have switched sides rather neatly... |