BEIRUT, Lebanon - A fresh US claim that Syria has not withdrawn all its forces from Lebanon and is meddling in politics there has come as the country prepared Saturday for the third round of legislative polls.

But analysts said candidates seeking to end the pro-Syrian majority in parliament may have exaggerated the extent of pressures from Syria as a way to advance their own electoral agendas.

US President George W. Bush said Friday he was disturbed by reports that Syrian intelligence operatives remain in Lebanon, in breach of a UN resolution ordering all Syrian forces out of the country.

"Our message to Syria -- and it's not just the message of the United States, the United Nations has said the same thing -- is that in order for Lebanon to be free," Syria needs to "not only remove their military, but to remove intelligence officers as well," Bush said at the White House.

White House spokesman Scott McCellan said he was "deeply concerned about Syria's interference and intimidation inside Lebanon" ahead of the polls.

The reports originally came from Lebanese sources, among them prominent anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. That prompted UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to order on Friday a UN verification mission back to Lebanon.

A UN verification mission to Lebanon reported on May 23 that Syria had fully withdrawn troops from its neighbor, in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559. But it said the clandestine nature of intelligence services made it difficult to establish their complete departure.

In Damascus, Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah said the comments by Bush and other US administration officials were "false and lacking in objectivity".

Jumblatt is running on joint tickets with Christian and Muslim opposition candidates in Lebanon's third round of legislative polls in Mount Lebanon and Bekaa on Sunday.

"I believe the entire opposition is being targeted," he said on Thursday, repeating an accusation he has often made since the murder in February of former premier Rafiq Hariri. McClellan too spoke of a Syrian "hit list".

Jumblatt also accused the former Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, General Rustom Ghazaleh, of meddling in the election through his agents.

And several people told AFP they had seen Syrian officers in the Bekaa Valley and in northern Lebanon "talking local mayors into voting and pushing the population to vote for candidates close to Damascus."

But Lebanese political analyst Ghassan Ezze said it was difficult to verify the presence of Syrian security agents on the ground.

"Besides, there are historical, cultural links between Syria and Lebanon, especially in the Bekaa, which shares a common and porous border with Lebanon," he added.

"Lebanon is at any rate a backyard for every and any foreign agent -- whether they be French, Israeli, American or Syrian," he said, underscoring Lebanon's shared borders with "problematic" countries in the area such as Israel and Syria.

But Ezze also pointed to a "political game" he said was being played by Jumblatt and other opposition figures.

"Lebanon is holding its first elections free of Syrian presence and candidates are nervous about their results. They need to emphasize an anti-Syrian agenda at all costs," he added.

He also highlighted the fact that Jumblatt had no real electoral platform "expect an anti-Syria rhetoric."

Another analyst said that while it was difficult to confirm the presence of Syrian agents in the Bekaa, Jumblatt is "undoubtedly running a campaign of anti-Syrian propaganda."

Butros Labaki explained that several notorious pro-Syrian figures were running on Jumblatt's list in the Bekaa, among them Mohsen Dalloul.

"Obviously, Jumblatt is not too easy about this alliance," said Labaki.

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