Rival Lebanese leaders urge calm on election day
* Rival leaders meet six days before vote
* Leaders call on supporters to accept results calmly
* Vote pits U.S.-backed coalition against Hezbollah, allies
BEIRUT, June 1 (Reuters) - Lebanon's rival leaders agreed on Monday to maintain calm during a June 7 general election and urged supporters to peacefully accept the results of what was set to be a very tight contest.
Lebanese vote on Sunday in a poll that pits an alliance including Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah, against an anti-Syrian coalition now holding a majority in parliament.
Many pundits predict gains for Hezbollah and its allies, who include Christian leader Michel Aoun, in a tight vote which may lead to the formation of another national unity government.
Leaders of both camps met at the presidential palace under the auspices of President Michel Suleiman six days before the vote and agreed to tone down the rhetoric in the final days before the vote.
"Those gathered ... call on Lebanese to carry out their electoral duty and head to voting booths calmly and responsibly, in line with the principles of freedom and democracy," a statement by the leaders said after the two-hour meeting.
It urged voters to "accept the results in a civilised manner".
The leaders, who include Sunni Muslim Saad al-Hariri, head of the U.S.-backed parliamentary majority, and MP Mohammad Raad, leader of the Shi'ite Hezbollah bloc, vowed to halt all campaigning and advertising 24 hours before the vote "to pave the way for calm thinking by citizens on election choices".
Lebanon plunged into its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war after the assassination of statesman Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. Political and Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian tensions rose to boiling point as the country flirted with another all out civil war.
More than 150 people were killed in the sectarian violence but an agreement a year ago after Hezbollah used its military might to defeat opponents in and around Beirut eased the political crisis and led to the electi2on of President Suleiman and the formation of a unity government.
Detente between the main Arab backers of the two camps, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as a willingness by Washington to engage Syria and Iran in dialogue earlier this year further eased tensions in Beirut.
But local tensions remain high, especially in a few hotly contested districts, with several minor violent incidents reported in recent weeks.
Lebanese security forces are set to deploy 50,000 men across the country of 4 million people to maintain security on election day.
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Follow Reuters