6 Jan 2009

Lebanon election date set

5:51 am on 6 January 2009

Lebanon has set a date for parliamentary elections.

The interior ministry announced on Monday the entire election will take place on Sunday, 7 June, rather than on separate days in different regions, as in previous elections.

The last elections were held in 2005 amid a wave of anti-Syrian sentiment following the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

A national unity government was formed in July following a political crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war. However, Hizbollah has veto power over any major decisions.