Triumphant Hariri pledges reforms in Lebanon
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-21 08:33

Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri pledged sweeping reforms on Monday after his anti-Syrian alliance won control of parliament in the first elections for three decades without Syrian troops in Lebanon.

Official results for Sunday's final phase of elections in north Lebanon showed the bloc led by Hariri -- the son of slain ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri -- sweeping all 28 remaining seats, taking its overall total to 72 in the 128-member assembly.

The victory means parliament has a majority of lawmakers opposed to Syria's influence in Lebanon for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Saad al-Hariri, the son of slain ex-prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, answers questions during a news conference held in his mansion in Beirut June 20,2005. A Lebanese anti-Syrian alliance pledged sweeping change on Monday after winning control of parliament in the first elections in three decades without Syrian troops in Lebanon.[Reuters]

European Union monitors gave the May 29-June 19 elections a clean bill of health but urged an overhaul of controversial rules on the organization of polls.

"The elections were well-managed and took place in a generally peaceful manner within the framework for elections," the EU election observation mission to Lebanon said.

"However, there is an urgent need for complete reform of the election framework," it said, singling out lax campaign financing rules which it said set an uneven playing field.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice congratulated Lebanon for holding elections in a "respectful way" and urged Syria to remove any intelligence agents it has in the country.

She told Arab television Al Arabiya that "this great democratic enterprise ... is done thanks finally to the removal of Syrian military forces, though Syria needs to remove finally non-trench military forces that it might also have in the area."

Hariri said people had voted for change and dedicated his victory to his late father: "I owe my father everything."

He told a news conference that he would issue next week a comprehensive program based on the late billionaire tycoon's ideas.

"There should be administrative and financial reforms, anti-corruption measures and economic, development and social programs. That's what we are going to do," Hariri said.

Sunday's win makes Hariri, 35, a leading candidate for the post. He brushed aside questions on future political moves, saying he wanted to consult with his allies first.

UNLIKELY ALLIANCE

The anti-Syrian list squared off against an unlikely alliance of pro-Syrians and Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian and long time critic of Damascus.

Aoun's victory in the Christian heartland of Mount Lebanon in last week's round stunned the movement whose street protests following Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14 forced Syria to bow to global pressure and pull out of Lebanon.

Aoun accused Hariri of buying votes and playing on sectarian differences to secure victory in northern Lebanon, ruling out any chance of teaming up with him in government.

"We will be in the opposition. We can't be with a majority that reached (parliament) through corruption," he said.

Hariri's bloc has now won 72 seats, an absolute majority, but short of the two-thirds the anti-Syrian front had predicted.

Aoun and allies have 21 seats while a pro-Syrian Shi'ite Muslim alliance between Hizbollah and Amal have 35 seats.

The vote in northern Lebanon was marred by allegations of vote-buying, intimidation and other irregularities. The EU said there had been a number of such complaints.

Lawmakers will jostle for a say on divisive issues such as the fate of Lebanon's head of state, President Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Syria, and international calls for Hizbollah guerrillas to disarm.

The resurfacing of sectarian tension and the emergence of Aoun as the main Christian political leader make it more difficult to force Lahoud, a Maronite, to quit.

It is unlikely the shape of the blocs will withstand the complexities of Lebanese politics and sectarian tensions over the course of parliament's four-year term.

An early indication comes this week when the new assembly meets to elect a speaker, a Shi'ite by tradition.

Amal chief Nabih Berri, a close ally of Damascus who has served as speaker for the past 13 years, is favorite to win re-election. Several Hariri allies have said they would not vote for Berri, whose alliance with Hizbollah swept the Shi'ite vote.

Parliament must also nominate a prime minister, a post reserved for a Sunni, to form a new government to replace that of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

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