Najib Mikati has won as Prime Minister of Lebanon in an election held today (January 25, 2011). Lawmakers in Beirut voted on Tuesday to back Najib Mikati, the candidate Hezbollah had proposed, as a prime minister. He gained 68 votes to Hariri's 60, putting the Hezbollah-led opposition in a position to form a government. The nomination of Najib Mikati is seen as a victory for Hezbollah, which is trying to fend off a U.N.-backed tribunal set up in 2005 to try the killers of statesman Rafik al-Hariri and which is expected to accuse members of the Shi'ite group. Sunni Muslims loyal to outgoing premier Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son who has Western and Saudi backing, staged a "day of rage" to protest the appointment of Sunni billionaire Mikati, a centrist lawmaker with ties to both Saudi Arabia and Syria. Demonstrations were called across the country, with thousands gathering in the northern city of Tripoli, and on the highway linking Beirut with the southern port ci...
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