Every summer, Israel makes it a point to hurl salvos of threats against Lebanon with a view to terrorizing its people and wrecking the tourist season. And for years on, this devious practice has continued. A few times the threats have graduated into military offensives, the latest of which was the one in the summer of 2006 when Israel unleashed a blitzkrieg on south Lebanon with disastrous effect.
During the last week of May, Israel had paraded its military might, simultaneously issuing intimidating statements hinting at invasion and destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure if the Hezbollah coalition came out victorious in the June 7 election. This certainly amounts to blatant meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon and an attack on the freedom of the Lebanese people to elect their representatives to Parliament and, hence by extension, the government itself.
The brotherly Lebanese people, in a show of admirable maturity and responsibility, swatted aside the bullying tactics of Israel and did not allow such threats to influence their voting decisions. The polls were conducted in a free and fair manner eliciting international admiration. The alliance headed by Saad Hariri bagged 71 seats while the Hezbollah coalition won 57 seats in the 128-member Parliament.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah admitted defeat gracefully and said in a candid interview with the Al-Manar TV channel: "We accept these results with true sportsman spirit, respecting democracy and, we acknowledge that the ruling camp has won the majority and the opposition has retained its strong presence in Parliament." He added that reports of some electoral irregularities wouldn't, however, affect their acceptance of the overall results.
The Lebanese elections were praised by several countries. US President Barack Obama commented: "It's our hope that the next government will continue the path toward building a sovereign, independent and stable Lebanon." He assured the new government of full support from the US and added that "once again the Lebanese have showed the world their courage and strong commitment to democracy".
Former US President Jimmy Carter, who headed a team of international observers, affirmed that the elections were hugely successful with no unpleasant incidents reported from any of the 26 voting centers in the country.
The elections have revealed that the Lebanese people treated Israeli threats with contempt. However, nobody thinks that Israel will draw in its horns; it is expected to manufacture fake reasons to intimidate Lebanon as it hates to see a stable and secure Lebanon flourishing in its neighborhood.
In light of the sensitive atmosphere prevailing in Lebanon with much talk about proportional representation and the like, political parties on both sides need to hold peaceful dialogue for choosing a president and the formation of a new government. This would foil the designs of countries like Israel to sow seeds of unrest and instability in Lebanon yet again. Such consultations would also help reassure the Lebanese that their country has become stable and secure with a government in place following free and fair elections. Such a peaceful post-poll process will certainly enable Lebanon to turn over a new leaf and move forward with confidence.
It is our fervent hope and prayer that Lebanon will have a bright and prosperous future under a new government established through free and fair elections with no external interference or influence whatsoever.
- Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali is editor in chief of Times of Oman.
