Final round in Lebanon voting

Aita Jebel (AFP, AP) - Lebanon concluded its first elections in 20 years yesterday with floods of voters crowding polling stations amid tight security in south Lebanon.

More than 50 per cent of 500,000 eligible voters cast ballots in the southern cities of Sidon, Tyre and Nabatiyeh and surrounding villages, where 131 candidates vied for 23 seats. But an estimated 25 per cent of voters were cut off in Israel's 'security zone' in the south and barred from voting.

Muslim fundamentalists won 14 seats in two previous rounds last month and were expected to capture four more. Ballot counting was expected to take more than 24 hours.