The March 14 alliance was victorious in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, with poll results, as of early Monday morning, indicating the alliance took around 70 seats, roughly the same number they held in the last parliament.
Speaking at a victory rally on Monday around 1 a.m., Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri thanked all Future and March 14 supporters, in addition to the security forces, the army, and Arab and international observers, “all of whom contributed to this glorious national day and establishing democracy.”
“These elections have no winner or loser, because the only winner is democracy, and the biggest winner is Lebanon,” Hariri said.
According to An-Nahar newspaper, March 14 swept Zahle, which was widely seen as one of the more tightly contested districts in the nation. Nicholas Fattouch and Antoine Abu Khater took the two Greek Catholic seats, Elie Marouni the Maronite seat, Joseph Maalouf the Orthodox seat, Assem Aaraji the Sunni seat, Okab Sakr the Shia seat and Chant Gengenian the Armenian Orthodox seat.
In Beirut I, another hard-fought district, March 14 candidates, who include Nayla Tueni, Michel Pharaon, Nadim Gemayel, Serge Torsarkissian and Jean Ogassapian, won the five seats.
Another sweeping victory for the March 14 alliance was the Beirut III, where all 10 seats were taken by the Hariri-led alliance.
March 14 also prevailed in Batroun, winning both the district’s seats. Current Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil, who was a candidate in the race, lost, as MPs Antoine Zahra and Boutros Harb seized the district’s two Maronite seats.
In Saida, current Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Education Minister Bahia Hariri, sister of slain ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, won the district’s two Sunni seats, thus defeating current Saida MP Osama Saad. There were reports that supporters of Saad vandalized cars and blocked roads with burning tires.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, who is Hezbollah’s Christian ally, retained his presence in Kesrouan and Jbeil with uncertainty in the Metn. In Kesrouan, the March 8 coalition list led by the FPM took all five seats. As for Jbeil, it was a clean win with Walid al-Khoury and Simon Abu Ramia taking the Maronite seats and Abbas Hashem the Shia seat. According to An-Nahar, there was a massive turnout of Shia voters in Jbeil mobilized by Hezbollah in favor of Aoun’s list.
Results in the Metn have shown a divide, as five seats out of seven have been decided for the opposition with Hagop Pakradounian winning uncontested, Ibrahim Kanaan, Nabil Nicholas, Salim Salhab all taking the Maronite seats, Ghassan Moukheiber the Greek Orthodox seat and Edgar Maalouf the Greek Catholic.
However, official results have yet to be announced in the Metn as MP Michel al-Murr and Kataeb candidate Sami Gemayel could possibly break Aoun’s list in the district, reports say. A source told NOW Lebanon that a recount is currently in progress in several disputed polling stations, including the one in Aintoura.
After a clear March 14 victory, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah called for adopting partnership in the governing process and accepting the principle of consensus.
In an interview with Reuters agency on Monday morning, Fadlallah said that the elections’ outcome will not change the “sensitive equations,” a reference to the political, religious and ideological diversities found in Lebanon.
A source quoted a politician close to the opposition as admitting the defeat of the coalition in the elections. The source told Reuters, “We have lost the elections, and we accept the results as the will of the people.”
The elections were marked by heavy voter turnout. Interior Minister Ziad Baroud lauded the voter participation, noting, “The voter turnout in the 2005 parliamentary elections was 45.8%, whereas today at 5 p.m. we had already surpassed 45%.”
“The entire world will look at the Lebanese electoral experience as successful,” Baroud said. “The biggest challenge is to follow up on the election results.”
-NOW Staff