BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Pro-Syrian Shiite political parties swept parliamentary elections along Lebanon's southern border with Israel, the government said Monday. The militant group Hezbollah and its allies have won all 23 seats in south Lebanon, the Interior Minister said.
Hezbollah hopes Sunday's victory will prove its strength and send a message of defiance to the United States amid international pressure on the group to disarm. Minister Hassan Sabei said Hezbollah and the allied Shiite party Amal won all 17 contested seats by a wide margin. The ticket had already been declared the winner of six other seats in the south where there were no challengers. Hezbollah increased its legislators in south Lebanon from four to five. Hezbollah also won a seat in Beirut in the first round of Lebanon's staggered elections, which began on May 29.
The parliamentary elections which run through June 19, are the first national polls to be conducted since Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April.