BEIRUT - Lebanon's president urged parliament on Wednesday to change a law organising coming elections which is widely seen to favour Syria's allies to the ire of the anti-Syrian Christian opposition.

The assembly, now dominated by pro-Syrian lawmakers, has until midnight Thursday to pass a new electoral law governing the polls set to start on May 29.

Otherwise they will be held under the rules of the last general election in 2000, held under the tutelage of Damascus which ended its 29-year military presence last week.

President Emile Lahoud, in a letter to parliament, said the 2000 law, which split Lebanon into constituencies in a way seen to favour Damascus's allies, was causing "sharp political dispute" that could lead to unbalanced representation.

He said the election should be held "on time under a law that secures the best expression of the will of the people."

Lahoud is a longtime Syrian ally, but a week after the last Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon, he appears to be seeking favour among his own Maronite Christian community which largely opposes the 2000 law.

He appeared to be asking parliament to swiftly pass a bill drafted months ago that would create small constituencies as advocated by many anti-Syrian Christian politicians.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a loyal Syrian ally, must call a parliament session in the next three days to discuss the president's suggestion, political sources said.

Some of Syria's Druze and Sunni Muslim opponents also favour revising the law, but along with the Syrian-backed Shi'ite Hizbollah movement had agreed with Berri to keep the old one for now, in return for the elections being held without delay.

Several of Lahoud's associates, including his son, are expected to contest the election, which will help shape Lebanon's future after the political earthquake set off by the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

International obsevers

The United Nations said it dispatched a two-member election assistance team to Lebanon on Wednesday to assist the government in preparations for the poll and in the coordination of the deployment of international observers.

"The secretary-general (Kofi Annan) reiterates his strong support for the government of Lebanon's pledge to organize and conduct the elections on time, beginning on 29 May," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Lahoud's intervention coincided with the first official visit to Damascus by new Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is close to Syria but also has conditional opposition support.

Mikati said after talks with President Bashar al-Assad that Beirut was keen to set relations with Syria on the right track.

"We discussed ways of uplifting this relationship to a relationship that is always special in a manner that serves the interest of both our peoples," he said.

Syria said in April it had completed its withdrawal from Lebanon in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution that also requires it to end its sway over Lebanese politics.

A U.N. team on a mission to verify the withdrawal visited the former Syrian intelligence headquarters in the eastern town of Anjar and nearby military bases on Wednesday.

The team also tried to inspect a military post controlled by the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, but security sources said a Palestinian guard turned the unexpected visitors away. As the inspectors left, shots were fired in the air.

In Beirut, hundreds of flag-waving Christians staged a protest near parliament, demanding a new electoral law and the release of anti-Syrian former militia leader Samir Geagea.

Geagea, 52, is serving multiple life sentences for political assassinations during the war. Other Lebanese warlords have climbed the political ranks under a postwar amnesty. (Reuters)