Hezbollah and allies win vote in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah and allies have won all 23 seats in south Lebanon, the Interior Minister said today, as Israel expressed concern over the victory of an armed group regarded as international terrorists.
Giving, the official results of yesterday’s vote, Minister Hassan Sabei said the alliance of Hezbollah and Shiite Amal had won, by a wide margin, all 17 of the contested seats. Hezbollah had already been declared the winner of six other seats in the south where there were no challengers.
Yesterday’s vote increased Hezbollah’s legislators in south Lebanon from four to five. Hezbollah has already won a seat in Beirut in the first round of Lebanon’s staggered elections that began on May 29.
The militant group hopes its victory will prove its strength and send a message of defiance to the United States amid international pressure on the group to disarm.
The parliamentary elections in Lebanon, which run until June 19, are the first national polls to be conducted since Syria withdrew all its troops from Lebanon in April.
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