Hariri coalition claims victory in Lebanon vote

BEIRUT: Lebanon's pro-Western coalition claimed victory on Monday over an alliance headed by the fundamentalist Shiite militant group Hezbollah after a fiercely-contested parliamentary election race."This is a big day in the history of democratic Lebanon," a triumphant Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian grouping known as March 14, told cheering supporters at a rally after Sunday's vote."Congratulations to you, congratulations to freedom, congratulations to democracy," said Hariri, the son of slain former billionaire prime minister Rafiq Hariri.Hariri's coalition -- which held the majority in the old parliament -- was set to win 70 seats in the new 128-seat assembly against 58 for Hezbollah and its Christian and Shiite allies, according to his Future television station.Celebratory gunfire erupted near Hariri's headquarters in Beirut and jubilant supporters took to the streets of several cities as the results started filtering out from the election, whose outcome is being closely watched by Lebanon's neighbours and the international community.Police and soldiers were out in force in sensitive areas for fear of fighting between rivals in a war-scarred country that remains deeply divided along sectarian lines.Analysts said the winning factions would have to work with their rivals to form a government and ensure the nation is not plunged into a new cycle of political instability and violence.Hasan Fadlallah of Hezbollah refused to acknowledge defeat for the Iranian - and Syrian-backed alliance -- whose emergence as a possible victor in the election had caused jitters in the West."What matters to us now is that Lebanon turns a new page, one based on partnership, cooperation and understanding," he told AFP. "No party can claim to have won the majority among all communities."Official results are expected to be known later on Monday.Voters turned out in force for what was considered one of Lebanon's most crucial elections. Preliminary estimates put turnout at more than 54 percent of the 3.2 million electorate, the highest since at least the end of the 1975-91 civil war.Analysts had predicted that just a handful of seats were likely to separate the rival blocs in the battle for control of parliament.Hezbollah itself fielded just 11 candidates but heads an alliance grouping the Shiite Amal movement and the Free Patriotic Movement, a nationalist party headed by Christian civil war army chief Michel Aoun.It is expected that the final results will show that Christian vote, which was divided between the rival camps, proved crucial.