BEIRUT - A prominent Lebanese Christian politician said on Friday the anti-Syrian opposition would win a majority in parliamentary elections whether they were held on time in May or delayed.

The opposition have accused Syria and its Lebanese allies of seeking a postponement to avoid likely defeat in the polls and to prolong the life of the mainly pro-Syrian parliament.

"We are (putting up) a fight in order to avoid any delay and I think that even a technical delay is the first step to destroying the parliamentary democratic system that we have in Lebanon," Maronite Christian MP Boutros Harb told Reuters.

But even if those efforts failed, he said he was confident of victory for the opposition that includes several religious groups and some former foes in the 1975-1990 civil war.

"They (the authorities) are betting on the time factor, that maybe in a few months things will be different... I personally think that it (the opposition vote) will increase," he said.

"We don't face any possibility or any eventuality of boycotting the elections."

Harb said the opposition planned to present to parliament a revised draft election law, amending a bill proposed by the government, to ensure the polls were held on time.

The government, working in caretaker capacity after resigning in the wake of vast opposition protests, says it cannot organise elections. Parliament's term ends on May 31.

The opposition's popularity surged after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who fell out with Syria before his death. The opposition has said Syria had a role, although Damascus denies this.

Opposition to unity

Some analysts have questioned whether the disparate opposition will be able to stay united after any elections.

Harb said the opposition would probably hold together, because of broad agreement on the need for wide-ranging reform.

But he added: "If not, it will be justified, because after fulfilling the four goals we are fighting for, I think the political arena in Lebanon will be different."

The opposition has called for Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, an international inquiry into Hariri's death, the resignation of Lebanese security chiefs and free elections. Some demands, like Syrian troop withdrawal, have already started.

The opposition has also called for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to resign. Harb, who has previously sought the presidency, said elections were the priority and Lahoud could consider his position after the polls.

One potentially divisive issue is when to start talks on disarming Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah, the only group in Lebanon still bearing arms. Some in the opposition have said talks should start straight after elections, most say later.

Hizbollah has said it would not lay down its arms as long as Israel occupies a strip of land called the Shebaa Farms, which the United Nations has ruled is Israeli-occupied Syrian territory but Lebanon claims for its own.

Hizbollah, which has organised huge pro-Syrian street protests in response to opposition rallies, also said it would keep its arms as long as Israel "continued to threaten Lebanon."

Harb said Hizbollah should disarm after the Shebaa Farms occupation was ended.

"I had some meetings with them, and I reached a kind of conviction that it is feasible with them... to reach an understanding after the liberation of Shebaa Farms," he said. (Agencies)