The Lebanese Surprise

A week ago, all the pundits were predicting that Hezbollah and its allies stood a good chance of winning the election in Lebanon. That would have destroyed the fragile "unity government" in the country, and put it under the sphere of influence of Syria and Iran. It would have been widely perceived as a defeat for the West.

But democracy is a fickle beast, and sometimes even the experts are wrong when they try to predict the outcome of a democratic election. That seems to be the case in the Lebanese election this last week. Lebanon surprised everyone by giving the pro-West coalition (called the March 14 coalition) a significant victory.

The March 14 coalition won 71 of the 128 seats in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah and its allies won 57 seats. There were some fears that the election could result in rioting and street fighting, but it looks like that won't happen. Hezbollah has said it accepts the results of the election.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader, said, "Government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion."

Former president Jimmy Carter led a team of observers who witnessed the election. He said, "The most important thing is to commend the people of Lebanon and the election authorities for a successful demonstration of the right of the people to express their will. They did it legally and properly, and one of the tests of a successful election is a rapid acceptance of the results."

This election is a good thing. It won't solve all the problems of the Mid-East, but in that war-torn part of the world, even small steps must be celebrated. This was a victory for democracy. Hopefully, other victories will follow and peace can finally come to that troubled part of the world.