Lebanese president urges leaders to cooperate to achieve stability, development

Former U.S. president Carter visits Lebanese leaders, says elections "fair"

Lebanese minister accuses Israel of interfering with communications during elections

The international community welcomed Monday the results of Lebanon's Sunday parliamentary polls, in which the previously ruling March 14 majority defeated the Hezbollah-led March 8 opposition.

The elections were keenly observed by neighboring countries like Israel as well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United States, which feared Hezbollah would make major headway, as was predicted by most analysts.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon congratulated Lebanon's rival parties on Sunday's peaceful elections and urged all Lebanese citizens to "respect the results and work together in the spirit of coexistence and democracy."

In a press statement, Ban also expressed his hope that the task of forming a government would start immediately in an atmosphere of peace and calm.

Arch-enemy Israel appeared relieved by the March 14 victory but said it would hold Beirut accountable for any attacks on its territory launched from Lebanon.

"Israel considers the Lebanese government responsible for any military or otherwise hostile activity that emanates from its territory," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is incumbent upon any government that is formed in Beirut to ensure that Lebanon will not be used as a base for violence against the state of Israel and Israelis," it added, reiterating demands that Beirut strengthen security and halt arms smuggling to Hezbollah.

Israel's hardliner Transport Minister Yisrael Katz called for Hezbollah to be disarmed after its trouncing at the polls.

"The victory of pro-Western forces in Lebanon over the pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian forces led by [the groups Secretary General Sayyed Hassan] Nasrallah signals important tidings for the region and Israel," he told Israeli public radio. "We must now move to disarm Hezbollah in accordance with agreements made in the past."

Knesset member and former Israeli Army spokesperson Miri Regev called Hezbollah's election defeat the result of a devastating 34-day war with Israel in July 2006. Following the war, Beirut realized that "the expansion of terrorist groups will only cause Lebanon more disasters," Regev said.

Tzahi Hanegbi, who chairs the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he was "optimistic" at Hezbollah's defeat. "We can say after many years in which the leading trend in the Middle East was the clear strengthening of the radical camp, the camp that puts Israel and the US in its crosshairs, then yesterday might have been a reversal of the trend," he told Army Radio Monday.

Former colonial power and March 14 backer France issued a statement urging Lebanon's divided political factions to continue to cooperate with one another.

"France, a friend of all Lebanese people, hopes the climate of dialogue that has prevailed over the past year will continue in the interest of stability and of the unity of Lebanon as a whole," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy also telephoned Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to congratulate him on what he called "peaceful and democratic elections."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a statement Monday, similarly welcomed Lebanon's election results, calling them "a decisive step toward political stability."

Sunday's elections, the first to be held on one day only, showed "the people of Lebanon have decided in favor of continuing the course geared to an open, democratic and united Lebanon," Steinmeier said.

"I appeal to all the players in the region to continue on the path of reconciliation and comprise and not to allow a breeding ground for violence and terror," he added.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Premier Fouad Siniora and MP Saad Hariri to congratulate the victory of their alliance, the Middle East News Agency reported Monday, with the octogenarian leader calling the results a "reflection of the people's will."

Egypt and Hezbollah have been at loggerheads since Cairo accused the group of plotting "terrorist" attacks against Israeli tourists and Egyptian infrastructure in April.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Arab League also praised Lebanon's peaceful polls, with Saudi Arabia noting its pleasure at "the contending parties' support for maintaining calm, keeping Lebanon unified and accepting the will of the people," the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon also congratulated the March 14 alliance. "We hope the Lebanese people will remain patient during the post-election process and support their democratically elected members," he said in a statement.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyya meanwhile hailed the polls as a triumph of democracy. "What happened is the victory of democracy, the victory of freedom of expression, political pluralism, and peaceful handover of authority," he said in Gaza City.

"We wish for Lebanon, the Lebanese nation, and all the winners of this election to provide Lebanon with protection as an Arab power and a strong region in the face of the Israeli occupation."

The Maronite Bishops Council called on Friday for implementing reforms following the legislative elections. In a statement issued at the end of its yearly assembly in Bkirki, the council said it was "looking forward to begin the process of reform with President Michel Sleiman following Sunday's elections."

The council added that reforms should start with "reactivating constitutional institutions that alone could ensure political, security and economic stability."

The bishops also called for the implementation of economic reforms, and the support of industrial and agricultural production and tourism.

The bishops also said that the state should provide job opportunities for youth and encourage them not to leave their country.

They also stressed the need to achieve decentralization in order to "establish national unity and ... improve sustainability."

The bishops "urged all Lebanese to preserve the unity of their country," the statement said, urging them to resort to dialogue to settle all differences.

They also said that the elections should be held in a "transparent atmosphere."

"The council urges the Lebanese to put their nation's interests first in order to secure a better future for their children." the statement added.

Meanwhile, Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri called for the establishment of a state of institutions.

In a rally held on Friday to announce the end of the movement's electoral campaign, Hariri addressed the voters, saying: "You have 36 hours to stop anyone from overthrowing our free and independent republic and our free economic system, for us to commit to the full equal sharing of power."

"We will stand in the face of those who want to stop us from believing that we can live one day without crisis, in a state of institutions led by a strong president," he said.

"The decision of every Lebanese voter will determine the fate of Lebanon. It is a destiny that we create today. Our decision is what we will remember in the future when our children ask us what we have done," he added.

Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun said that Hezbollah's arms were "intended to face Israel."

During an FPM electoral rally in Zahleh, Aoun said that concerns over Hezbollah's arms were baseless. "The resistance arms are to protect you and not to attack you," he added.

Also on Friday, Aoun said the day following the legislative polls "will be the beginning of a new renaissance."

Addressing Lebanese expatriates in Australia and Canada, he said the Future Movement's economic program was "based on corruption, public debts and taxes."

The FPM leader reiterated that his party rejected the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Sleiman met Friday with a delegation from the EU Mission for observing the polls, headed by Jose Ignacio Salafranca.

Salafranca informed the president of the mission's role in monitoring the upcoming elections. He also praised the Lebanese government and bodies for "facilitating the work of the delegation."

Sleiman also met with former US President Jimmy Carter, who is heading a delegation from the Carter Center to monitor the polls.

Carter thanked Sleiman and Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, for "facilitating the mission of observers who have been dispatched to start their mission in 26 polling stations."

Carter and his delegation also visited Premier Fouad Siniora.

Siniora also met with the European Union delegation to monitor the elections, headed by Salafranca.

Meanwhile, Baroud said on Friday that the electoral process should "meet international standards."

After a meeting with the EU poll monitoring delegation, Baroud said international monitoring was "helping the Lebanese in the electoral process, and not meddling in the country's domestic affairs."

Meanwhile, in a news conference held Friday, the interior minister said forged identity cards could not be used on Sunday's parliamentary elections due to measures adopted by the ministry.

Baroud added that voting by government election employees was very high and ranged between 85 to 99 percent. Around 11,000 civil servants cast their ballots on Thursday ahead of the Sunday's polls.

Army commander General Jean Kahwaji held a military meeting on Friday, during which he urged all army officers to be on alert on Sunday in order to ensure that all citizens arrive safely to polling stations and cast their votes freely.

He also called on army officers to be "firm while containing any conflict."

In other developments, Hezbollah said on Friday that it had set up electoral machinery in South Lebanon to cover the parliamentary elections.

In a statement issued by Hezbollah's media office in Nabatiyeh, the party said its machinery was "ready to cover the election day on Sunday and to provide reporters with continuous communication with their media outlets."

Carter and his team of observers in Lebanon are hopeful after parliamentary elections Sunday.

“I think the will of the people was done,” Carter said by phone Monday.

The acquiescence of the losing side to the results is a good sign that everyone believes the election was fair, he said.

A coalition deemed friendly toward Western powers and Saudi Arabia held onto a majority of seats. The other coalition, dominated by the Hezbollah party, was backed by Iran and Syria.

This was the 76th election monitored by the Carter Center.

“And I think this was one of the better ones,” he said.

There were some anomalies that he will suggest be corrected. Lebanese who live in another country can still show up to vote. Planeloads of citizens were being flown in by foreign money, trying to sway the election one way or another, Carter said.

“But I think they largely canceled each other out,” he said.

Lebanon is a country under tension. A 15-year civil war ended in 1990, but it has served as a political game board for neighboring and foreign powers.

Locally, multiple political parties tied to religious, ethnic and clan identities share and maneuver for power, and there is always fear of another round of violence.

“I think there was a general sense of unease that there could be violence or problems on election day,” said David Carroll, the Carter Center’s director of Democracy Programs.

“But on election day, things were very harmonious, and the election came off generally peaceful.

“On the other hand,” Carroll added, “the old power rivalries are still there under the surface.

“This was an important step to bring some stability for the near term. But it certainly doesn’t solve all their problems,” he said.

Lebanese Communications Minister Jobaran Basil claimed Wednesday that Israel interfered with communications in its country for the three days prior to elections. He said the interference affected both landlines and cell phones, predominately in the southern part of the state where Hezbollah has control.

Basil explained that Lebanon had information proving that Israel blocked communications from both the air and the sea. He asked the Lebanese Foreign Minister to register an international complaint regarding the incident.