Naharnet

MP Michel Murr believed that MP Hagop Pakradonian would not have become a deputy in northern Metn had he not won a vacant and uncontested seat.

Murr pointed that 95 percent of Tashnag’s votes were distributed between candidate Ghassan Rahbani and MP Ghassan Mkheiber “with the aim of toppling him.”

He said only about 1,000 Armenian citizens voted for him. “This figure did not lead to my success,” Murr said.

Pakradonian, disagreed, saying: “Had it not been for Tashnag’s votes, Murr wouldn’t have won.”

Pakradonian stressed the “continuation of the alliance” with Gen. Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement.

Tashnag Secretary-General Hovic Mukhtarian pointed that 13,700 Armenians voted in northern Metn, 10,900 of which were Tashnag supporters.

He said 2,200 votes went to Murr, adding that “we had warned that the Armenian mood was not so enthusiastic about voting for Murr.”

Mukhtarian pointed that 6,740 Armenians have voted in Beirut 1 district, of which 5,026 votes w...

Italy on Wednesday welcomed the outcome of parliamentary elections saying it "guarantees" stronger ties with the West and the European Union.

In a press release, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: "I am confident that the winning alliance in the elections can guarantee that cooperation with the West and the EU is strengthened, under the leadership of President (Michel) Suleiman."

He praised the Lebanese for their "heavy participation" in the electoral process and said the results "is an expression of the people's resolve to be part of (efforts) to bring stability to the country."

Frattini pledged his country's support to boost stability in Lebanon "thanks to peacekeeping forces headed by General Claudio Graziano."

Following Sunday’s legislative elections, Lebanon has a new parliament gathering young and old members.

Out of 128 members of the legislature the Lebanese elected new members whose ages range between 26 and 40 years. Nayla Tueni is now parliament’s youngest member; Abdel Latif el-Zein is the elder parliamentarian at 79.

Zein is a veteran member of parliament for 50 years. He has served 10 presidents, 4 speakers of parliament and countless prime ministers, and is looking forward to run again in 2013.

“In the past an MP would run for election single handed or allied with someone else. Today we have party and movement alliances,” Zein said to the daily pan-Arab al-Hayat on Wednesday.

Zein remembers the time when the Israelis arrested him during the 1982 invasion, to be later released following the intervention of U.S. envoy to Lebanon at the time Philip Habib.

He regrets electing former President Suleiman Franjieh Sr. to office in 1970 who won his term by one vote.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Farid Makari on Tuesday said Hizbullah’s continued refusal to discuss the future of its weapons arsenal “torpedoes the whole idea of national dialogue.”

At a press conference, Makari voiced pessimism over Hizbullah’s demands for veto power in the new government and said “this takes us back to point zero.”

He said he hoped the other team “accepts the poll outcome and does not cripple the county and provoke tension once again.”

Makari considered that outcome in Koura reflects “the mood of the Lebanese in general, and Christians in particular. We hope the other side grasps the message behind the result and reconsiders its calculations, policies and choices.”

On parliament presidency, he said that March 14 forces will “deliberate the matter after their meeting. As for the premiership, it is up to the majority to decide and this majority is headed by Sheikh Saad Hariri.”