Hezbollah Strong In Lebanon Vote

Guerilla Group Sweeps 23 Parliament Seats In Southern Region

(AP)  The elections, which are scheduled for two more Sundays in other regions, follow the assassination last week of an anti-Syrian journalist and continuing calls by the opposition for President Emile Lahoud's resignation.

Syria pulled all its troops out of Lebanon in April after three decades of control, and the anti-Syrian opposition hopes the elections will end Damascus' control of the legislature.

In last Sunday's polls in Beirut, anti-Syrian opposition candidates took out most of the capital's 19 parliamentary seats.

But the vote in the predominantly Shiite south has different political objectives than other areas, where the race is largely between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps. In the south, the election is geared toward rejecting international pressure to disarm Hezbollah in line with U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, which was sponsored by the United States and France.

Voters in southern Lebanon are united in their support for Hezbollah, crediting it for forcing Israeli troops to withdraw from the region and in their rejection of international attempts to disarm the group.

Hezbollah, backed by both Syria and Iran, led the guerrilla war against Israel's occupation. The group is fielding 14 candidates across Lebanon, hoping to build on the nine seats it already holds in the 128-member legislature. It has already won a seat in Beirut.

There were 53 candidates running for the 23 seats in the south. Six candidates won uncontested because there were no challengers in their districts.

Last year's U.N. Resolution 1559 forced Syrian troops to leave Lebanon and also demands militias a clear reference to Hezbollah in Lebanon give up their weapons. The United States has also called for the group to abandon its weapons.

Hezbollah has refused to disarm, and Lebanese authorities have rejected U.S. and U.N. demands to dismantle the group, saying it is a resistance movement, not a militia.