Anti-Syrian bloc celebrates Lebanon election win

Lebanese vote in tight contest
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By Laila Bassam
BEIRUT (Reuters) - An anti-Syrian coalition defeated Hezbollah in Lebanon's parliamentary election on Sunday in a blow to Syria and Iran and a boost to the United States.
"Congratulations to Lebanon, congratulations to democracy, congratulations to freedom," the coalition's leader Saad al-Hariri said in a victory speech at his mansion in Beirut.
The outcome was also welcome news for Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which back Hariri's "March 14" alliance - the date of a 2005 rally against Syria's military presence in Lebanon.
"We have lost the election," conceded a senior politician close to the bloc of Shi'ite groups Hezbollah and Amal and Christian ally Michel Aoun.
"We accept the result as the will of the people."
The vote will be viewed as a stinging setback to Aoun, who held the biggest bloc of Christian MPs in the outgoing assembly and had hoped to seal his claim to speak for the Christians.
A source in Hariri's campaign predicted a decisive victory, with his bloc taking at least 70 of the assembly's 128 seats.
Perhaps 100 of the seats were virtually decided in advance, thanks to sectarian voting patterns and political deals, with Sunni and Shi'ite communities voting solidly on opposing sides.
The real electoral battle centered on Christian areas, where Aoun was up against former President Amin Gemayel's Phalange Party, Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces and independents.
Lebanon's rival camps are at odds over Hezbollah's guerrilla force, which outguns the Lebanese army, and ties with Syria, which dominated Lebanon for three decades until 2005.
The likeliest outcome of the poll is another "national unity" government, analysts say.
SINIORA WINS SEAT
According to unofficial results, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has enjoyed Western and Arab support, won a parliamentary seat in the mainly Sunni southern city of Sidon.
Siniora, 66, has headed the cabinet since the Hariri-led coalition won the 2005 parliamentary election. He led the government through 18 months of political conflict with Hezbollah and its allies, but is not expected to keep his post.
Voting was relatively trouble-free across Lebanon, although there were many reports of vote-buying before the poll, with some Lebanese expatriates being offered free air tickets home. Continued...
Source: Reuters