Hezballah lose Lebanon election

Reuters/Washington Post:

An anti-Syrian coalition defeated Hezbollah in Lebanon's parliamentary election on Sunday in a blow to Syria and Iran and a boost to the United States.

"Congratulations to Lebanon, congratulations to democracy, congratulations to freedom," the coalition's leader Saad al-Hariri said in a victory speech at his mansion in Beirut.

The outcome was also welcome news for Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which back Hariri's "March 14" alliance - the date of a 2005 rally against Syria's military presence in Lebanon.

"We have lost the election," conceded a senior politician close to the bloc of Shi'ite groups Hezbollah and Amal and Christian ally Michel Aoun.

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The rejection of Hezballah has to be good news for Lebanon and others in the Middle East including Israel. I think the fact of Hezballah's involvement in the Hariri murder had to hurt their chances. It will be interesting to see what kind of government is formed.

The NY Times reports:

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... If those results are confirmed, they would represent a significant and unexpected defeat for Hezbollah and its allies, Iran and Syria. Most polls had showed a tight race, but one in which the Hezbollah-led group would win.

The tentative victory might have been aided by nearly unprecedented turnout. The preliminary results showed that about 55 percent of the 3.26 million registered voters cast ballots. Lebanese television reported that the March 14 coalition, a predominantly Sunni, Christian, Druze alliance, held at least 67 seats out of 128 in Parliament.

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While Hezballah will continue to be a forced to be dealt with they will not have the whip hand they thought they would be dealt.