Nayla Assaf and Sabine Darrous
Daily Star staff

The Metn by-election controversy ended Monday when Myrna Murr withdrew her candidacy and left the disputed Orthodox parliamentary seat for her uncle, Gabriel Murr.
But opposition leaders who supported Gabriel Murr rejected Myrna Murr’s withdrawal notice ­ eight days after ballots were cast ­ reiterating that their candidate had been the winner from day one and calling all later decisions “hoaxes.”
Speaking at former President Amin Gemayel’s home in Sin al-Fil, Metn MPs Nassib Lahoud and Pierre Gemayel, along with incoming MP Gabriel Murr, said the withdrawal had no effect on the legal outcome of the race.
Myrna Murr’s withdrawal notice apparently prompted her brother, Interior Minister Elias Murr, to send Parliament’s General-Secretariat a memorandum declaring Gabriel Murr to be the victor.
“Based on the letter sent by Myrna Murr in which she announced her withdrawal from the battle and based on the minutes of the tabulation committees, we inform you of the victory of Gabriel Murr for the Orthodox seat in Mount Lebanon’s District Two (Metn) in the by-election that took place on June 2, 2002,” the ministry’s statement said.
Speaker Nabih Berri, who received the memorandum, instructed Parliament’s technical department to install Gabriel Murr’s name on the electronic screen at the assembly hall in place of the seat’s former holder, the late MP Albert Mokheiber.
Gabriel Murr is expected to visit Nijmeh Square in the next few days to claim his blue license plate and learn about his seat.
Metn MP Michel Murr informed the Interior Ministry of his daughter Myrna’s withdrawal, but steadfastly refused to call it a defeat.
In an official notification sent to the ministry, he said she was withdrawing from “the battle of proclaiming election results.” The former interior minister also said Myrna had garnered 15 votes more than her uncle.
The decision to withdraw, he added, was the result of a “political compromise” to avoid tension and divisions in the country.
For the past week, both parties have claimed victory, with the opposition citing the first report of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee, while Michel Murr brandished a later one.
Michel Murr had earlier informed President Emile Lahoud of his “political compromise” during a meeting on Sunday, after which he held a news conference at his offices in Zalqa.
The concession comes after efforts by the political establishment to end the controversy and restore calm. It also complemented reconciliation efforts between Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Interior Minister Elias Murr, who had accused the premier and Justice Minister Samir Jisr of interfering in the by-election.
In his letter, Michel Murr said that the report submitted by the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee to the Interior Ministry on June 3 gave his daughter Myrna 34,760 votes, 15 more than Gabriel Murr.
The opposition claimed victory for its candidate on the committee’s first report, which gave Gabriel Murr a three-vote edge.
Michel Murr’s letter also claimed that the Interior Ministry had violated article 60 of the Election Law when it did not “immediately announce the decision of the committee to the media and did not inform Parliament about it with a written memorandum.”
According to Michel Murr, the directorate-general “pointed out mistakes found in one of the polling stations that were in favor of the rival contestant, while it ignored similar mistakes found in other polling stations that were in favor of Myrna.”
He also accused his brother  Gabriel Murr of distorting facts through the media and provoking sectarian tensions, which he said had prompted his daughter to “sacrifice her interests for the sake of the country and to avoid problems.”
Those accusations, however, were strongly rejected by Gemayel and Lahoud.
When asked about the legality of Myrna Murr’s withdrawal, Gemayel refused to comment, saying:  “We are not concerned with the notice.”
“We don’t want to go into the details or into all the tricks which took place after Monday, June 3 at 3am, when judge (Elias) Abu Nassif (the head of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee) notified MPs Nassib Lahoud and Pierre Gemayel of the election results in favor of Gabriel Murr,” he said. “This was a legal and irreversible announcement.”
In a statement, Gemayel refused to substitute Myrna Murr’s withdrawal with an official announcement of the results, dubbing the withdrawal “a new step in the series of attempts to cover up the real results of the elections.”
“The only thing (in the notification) that concerns us is that the government has conceded that Gabriel Murr is the winner,” he added.
Gemayel also scolded the authorities for their handling of the controversy.
“The electoral battle has revealed mistakes on all levels, be it on the level of the judiciary, which was unable handle the vote tabulation, on that of the public prosecutor’s office, which was unable to ensure voting behind the screens … or on the level of the executive authorities,” whose inefficiency, he said, had plunged the country into a deadlock.
In that respect, Gemayel and Lahoud reiterated an earlier call for the resignation of Interior Minister Elias Murr and another for the formation of an investigative parliamentary committee to examine all violations committed during the by-election.
Nassib Lahoud denied having
knowledge of Syrian intervention in resolving the stalemate, adding: “The only phrase we recognize in this notification is the one which announces the victory of Gabriel Murr. As to all the rest of the content, we don’t recognize or claim any part in it.”
Nassib Lahoud said that if the opposition had wanted to strike a deal with the authorities, it would have settled for a conciliatory candidate and avoided the battle.
He also maintained that the opposition would continue broadening its reach in anticipation of the 2005 legislative elections, hinting that he will be meeting with exiled army commander and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun in Paris in the next several weeks.
l The government’s poor handling of the by-election was one of the few things that staunch loyalists and ardent opposition figures could agree on Monday.
Phalange Party president Karim Pakradouni said the ministry should have announced the results of the Metn by-election when it received them from the Vote Tabulation Committees, regardless of the outcome.
Pakradouni told a party meeting that the delays and controversy surrounding the ministry’s official announcement revealed the “fragility of the government and the political situation.”
He blamed the controversy on a “lack of solidarity among ministers, the absence of official decision-making and the domination of the street.”
Pakradouni said the government was “not prepared to overcome its conflicts, unite, promote institutions and restore the authority of the law.”
He called for the formation of a new government of national consensus that would represent all Lebanese parties.
For his part, National Bloc leader Carlos Edde said the ministry had “without a doubt proved its utter failure in its supposed task of remaining neutral” in the poll.
Edde called on Interior Minister Elias Murr to resign, urging Parliament to hold a special session on the government’s handling of the election.
Edde also said the minister had ignored the Higher Vote Tabulation’s finding in favor of Gabriel Murr, as well as violating the election law making use of the voting curtain optional.

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