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Lebanese Elections Over; Anti-Syria Parties Win

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  • Lebanese Elections Over; Anti-Syria Parties Win

    Anti-Syria opposition triumphs in Lebanon parliamentary polls
    By Roula Khalaf in London and Kim Ghattas in Beirut
    Published: June 21 2005 03:00 | Last updated: June 21 2005 03:00

    Lebanon further eased itself out of Syria's grip yesterday when the anti-Syrian opposition claimed a majority of seats in parliamentary elections.
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    The victory of the bloc led by Saad Hariri, the 35-year-old son of the assassinated former prime minister, means an anti-Syrian coalition is set to dominate parliament for the first time since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1991 civil war.

    Official results for Sunday's last phase of the elections in north Lebanon showed the alliance swept all seats. This gave the Hariri camp a total of 72 seats in the 128-member parliament during an election staggered over four week-ends.

    Lebanon's elections were the first in decades to be held without the presence of Syrian military forces. The 15,000 troops were withdrawn in the aftermath of the February killing of Rafiq Hariri, the former prime minister and architect of Lebanon's reconstruction. The assassination provoked a wave of anti-Syrian protests and massive international pressure on Damascus to end its economic and political grip over Lebanon.

    Mr Hariri's aides yesterday said he would begin consultations with his partners over the make-up of the next government, as the new parliament prepares to elect a speaker. The government that will emerge after the elections will seek to remove remaining pockets of Syrian influence, particularly in the local intelligence and security agencies. It is also likely to adopt a more independent foreign policy, until now dictated by Damascus.

    But Mr Hariri and his allies also face serious constraints: they have to compromise with a president closely allied to Syria and probably with a speaker of parliament equally sympathetic to Damascus.

    Under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the office of parliamentary speaker is reserved for Shia Muslims, who are led by predominantly pro-Syrian parties.

    The Hariri victory fell short of the two-thirds parliamentary majority that would have facilitated the removal of Emile Lahoud, the president, whose mandate was extended in October for another three years.

    It is also far from clear that the electoral alliance, which brings together Mr Hariri's largely Sunni Muslim-backed Future Movement, a Druze (an offshoot of Islam) party and moderate Christians, will stick tog-ether for the duration of the parliamentary term.

    The anti-Syrian bloc had already split before the elections. Michel Aoun, the former exiled Christian general, ran against the Hariri alliance. Mr Aoun and allies will have 21 seats on the assembly while Shia parties, including the militant Hizbollah, will control 35 seats.

    http://news.ft.com/cms/s/4935d442-e1...00e2511c8.html
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