Michael
Jun 11th 2009, 12:07 PM
Lebanon Election Results: Pro-Western Majority Declares Victory
BEIRUT — Lebanon's pro-Western coalition declared victory early Monday, as local television stations reported the faction had successfully fended off a serious challenge by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies to grab the majority in parliament.
Official results for Sunday's election were not expected until later Monday, but the winners were already celebrating by shooting in the air, setting off fireworks and driving around in honking motorcades.
The election was an early test of President Barack Obama's efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers Iran and Syria and risked pushing one of the region's most volatile nations into international isolation and possibly into more conflict with Israel.
"I present this victory to Lebanon," Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said on television after stations projected his pro-Western coalition was winning. "It is an exceptional day for democracy in Lebanon."
Source-HuffPost (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/07/lebanon-election-results-_n_212359.html)
This is great news I think (it is always hard to tell with the Middle East).
I see lots of people are quick to credit Obama's Cairo speech for this victory, but I think that's a bit too arrogant. There were several significant predictions that March 14 Coalition was doing well long before Obama's Cairo speech occured. Obama's speech certainly couldn't hurt here, but I strongly doubt that it was the key factor in the election victory.
One piece of especially bright news in my opinion was the failure of the Aoun factional alliance with Hezbollah. The Aoun family (Christian Druze) has been at the center of Beruit politics for generations and I've always considered them to be one of the main obstacles to democracy in Lebanon.
BEIRUT — Lebanon's pro-Western coalition declared victory early Monday, as local television stations reported the faction had successfully fended off a serious challenge by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies to grab the majority in parliament.
Official results for Sunday's election were not expected until later Monday, but the winners were already celebrating by shooting in the air, setting off fireworks and driving around in honking motorcades.
The election was an early test of President Barack Obama's efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers Iran and Syria and risked pushing one of the region's most volatile nations into international isolation and possibly into more conflict with Israel.
"I present this victory to Lebanon," Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said on television after stations projected his pro-Western coalition was winning. "It is an exceptional day for democracy in Lebanon."
Source-HuffPost (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/07/lebanon-election-results-_n_212359.html)
This is great news I think (it is always hard to tell with the Middle East).
I see lots of people are quick to credit Obama's Cairo speech for this victory, but I think that's a bit too arrogant. There were several significant predictions that March 14 Coalition was doing well long before Obama's Cairo speech occured. Obama's speech certainly couldn't hurt here, but I strongly doubt that it was the key factor in the election victory.
One piece of especially bright news in my opinion was the failure of the Aoun factional alliance with Hezbollah. The Aoun family (Christian Druze) has been at the center of Beruit politics for generations and I've always considered them to be one of the main obstacles to democracy in Lebanon.