Harb says Syria shadow hangs over Lebanon vote

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The shadow of Syrian influence hangs over Lebanon's stalled presidential election, a former candidate for the post said on Monday, blaming Damascus's allies for holding up the vote.

Boutros Harb also said recent Western overtures towards Damascus had sapped the momentum of the governing coalition, which has been fending off a political challenge by the Syria-backed opposition for more than a year.

"What is happening now with the presidential election -- you feel or you smell the Syrian current, the Syrian influence," said Harb, a leading member of the governing coalition which has worked to curb Damascus's influence in Lebanon.

The presidency has been empty since November 24 after the term of the pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud ended. The rivals have agreed in principle to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman but the vote has yet to go ahead because the sides are haggling over the terms of a broader political deal.

A presidential election scheduled for Tuesday in parliament is also expected to be postponed. "The opposition is aiming to have more and more profit (from) this election. That's why the election is not taking place," said Harb, who had been one of the governing coalition's preferred candidates for the post.

The opposition, led by Hezbollah, were seeking to secure "seats in cabinet, the person of the prime minister, who is going to be commander-in-chief of the army and so on", he said.

Hezbollah, which is backed by both Iran and Syria, has spearheaded opposition to the governing alliance, waging a campaign aimed at securing more say in the government of a country dominated by Damascus until 2005.

"Syria knows that it cannot behave like it used to behave in the past," Harb said. "But at the same time I cannot say that Syria decided not to intervene."