DAMASCUS, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - The West-backed "March 14" coalition won Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lebanon, the country's interior minister told a Beirut press conference on Monday.
Ziad Baroud, who also heads the election commission, said the coalition, led by Saad al-Hariri, the son of ex-premier Rafik Hariri killed in 2005, won 71 seats out of 128, against 57 seats won by the opposition, with Hezbollah retaining 11 deputy mandates.
The previous parliament had a 70/58 ratio.
According to observers, one of the reasons for the opposition's failure was a fear among Lebanese, first of all Christians, that a Hezbollah victory could make Lebanon an Islamic state like Iran and increase the danger of a new confrontation with Israel.
