Source: The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p07s01-wome.html?s=hns
On June 14, 2005 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "Michel Aoun has gained a surprise victory in the key third stage of Lebanon's elections, delivering a blow to the anti-Syrian opposition's chances of forming a majority in the next parliament. Mr. Aoun won a clean sweep of seats in the Christian heartland north of Beirut in Sunday's polls, knocking aside moderate Christian candidates and confirming the fiery-tempered former general as the undisputed representative of a community that has felt marginalized since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. 'He is an authentic leader with a large following, and he counterbalances in confessional terms the leaders of other [non-Christian] communities in Lebanon,' says Paul Salem, a political analyst. The result also reflected Christian resentment that an alliance of Sunnis, Shiites, and Druze all but swept earlier electoral stages."