| EU observers hail 'open
and transparent' vote in Lebanon BEIRUT, May
30 (AFP) - European Union observers on Monday hailed the "open and transparent"
conduct of Lebanon's first round of parliamentary elections, held without the presence of
Syrian troops.
"The process was open and transparent," said EU MP Jose Ignacio Salafranca
Sanchez-Neyra, head of the EU observer mission and member of the European parliament
foreign affairs commission.
Earlier on Monday, UN secretary general Kofi Annan said he hoped the "democratic
conduct" of the first round would help Lebanon recover full sovereignty.
Lebanon voted in Beirut on Sunday in the first of a four-stage election, the first since
Syria last month ended its 29-year military presence in its smaller neighbor.
The list headed by Saad Hariri, the son of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, swept
to victory in all 19 seats in the capital.
Another three rounds are being held in other parts of Lebanon over the next three Sundays. |
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