Lebanon's prime minister encouraged by election result

The prime minister of Lebanon, Rafiq al-Hariri, has described the results of the country's first round of municipal elections, as encouraging.

He said it proved the strength of Lebanon's democracy.

Results from Sunday's poll, the first local elections to be held in thirty-five years,show significant gains for groups opposed to the Syrian-backed government.

The militant Shi'ite group, Hezbollah, beat a government coalition list in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut.

Hard-line Christian leaders also did well in the vote.

The BBC's Middle East correspondent says that whilst the authorities can take credit for presiding over what all agree was a democratic exercise, the message to the government is that many Lebanese are dissatisfied with it.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service