Shaaban underlined in a statement Syria's concern for the" unity, stability and prosperity of Lebanon, and its readiness to help it in all fields to attain these goals." SANA reported
Shaaban added according to SANA "Syria encourages the spirit of reconciliation shown by all the Lebanese parties, hoping that it will be turned into tangible steps through the national program in the coming phase."
Shaaban’s comments were the first official Syrian government reaction to Sunday’s parliamentary election.
On Monday, however, before the results were confirmed officially, Syrian newspapers said massive vote-buying and fraud had deformed the election.
The ruling Al-Baath party daily said on Monday the US-backed Hariri coalition “has been accused of having bought votes and using bribery,” adding that “this could pave the way to large-scale falsification of the election.”
For the Carter Center this was the 76th monitored election.
“I think this was one of the better ones,” Former US president Jimmy Carter said earlier today
" On election day, things were very harmonious, and the election came off generally peaceful." Said David Carroll, the Carter Center’s director of Democracy Programs.
Last Sunday the March 14 coalition headed by MP Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, landed 71 seats in the 128-member parliament against 57 for the Iranian and Syrian backed March 8th Hezbollah-led coalition .
The vote was seen as a blow to Syria and Iran. Ali Hussein ,a Lebanese political analyst told Ya Libnan" Hezbollah defeat could influence the outcome of the presidential elections in Tehran ".
On the other hand Saudi Arabia is very happy with the poll results. According to press reports coming from Riyadh , all eyes are now on Tehran . A defeat in Friday's Iranian election for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would be seen as another victory for Riyadh.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a graceful concession speech on TV Monday in which he admitted defeat 'with sportsmanship and democratic spirit' , congratulated his opponents and confirmed the acceptance of the election results.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, one of the key pillars of March 14 alliance hailed as "positive" the stance by Hezbollah chief .
The next step in Lebanon is forming the new government and the first step in the process is for the president to appoint a prime minister ,based on consultations with key members of the parliament and bloc leaders. Since March 14 alliance controls the parliament majority, its recommendation will be the crucial factor in the naming of the next premier. According to analysts March 14 could either recommend Saad Hariri or Fouad Siniora .
If past history is any indication , the forming of the cabinet could be a task almost as fraught as the election itself. The sticking issue will be the demand by the minority for a veto in the new government , something the majority is expected to reject outright. The veto power granted to the minority in the existing government led to the obstruction of all key decisions and for this reason Lebanon until now does not have the a budget for 2009 and yet it should have been approved over 6 months ago
Tags: Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Syria
