Hezbollah accepts election results, says Nasrallah

Hezbollah accepts election results, says Nasrallah Beirut - The secretary general of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said Monday his group has accepted the outcome of the Lebanese parliamentary elections - but insisted Hezbollah would not disarm.

"We accept the results which were issued by the Lebanese Interior Ministry," Nasrallah said in a televised address. "I congratulate all election winners. We accept the announced results of these elections with sportsmanship and democratic spirit."

According to the ministry's official results, the pro-West majority won 71 seats in the 128-member parliament, while the Hezbollah-led opposition secured 57 seats.

"I want to congratulate the Lebanese people for this national electoral achievement, and the high turnout for it," Nasrallah said. "The one-day elections were a big challenge, and we succeeded in this challenge."

He said the winners "must know that they are holding the responsibility of this representation, and they should rise to this responsibility."

He reiterated that Hezbollah, which led the resistance that saw Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000 and has continued to fight Israel during offensives, will not accept demands to disarm.

"Some people in the winning camp were afraid of holding the elections while our group maintains its arms," he said.

The elections had gone ahead peacefully, and "this proves that these arms are not being used to impose a new political reality, or to bring or exclude faces from the political arena."

The weapons "are present because of the peoples' will, and will be left for the dialogue table," he added.

The issue of the Hezbollah arsenal has been the core of the deep division between the ruling majority and Hezbollah-led opposition.

The majority has always insisted that only the Lebanese army should protect the Lebanese and the country, while Hezbollah believe that they should keep their arms to confront Israel.(dpa)