Hezbollah Handed Stinging Defeat

The results of Sunday's Lebanese parliamentary elections were unexpected, with early results showing the pro-Western March 14 coalition scoring a landslide victory. The coalition has retained its majority by capturing anywhere between 68 to 70 seats of the 128-seat parliament.

The Hezbollah-led opposition, which had been expected to take the majority, emerged with only 50 seats, although eight seats are still to be announced in the Metn region. Early results show that of these eight seats, only two were taken by March 14 coalition candidates - Michel al-Murr and Sami Gemayel - while the remaining six went to Hezbollah.