UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Monday congratulated Lebanon on the peaceful conduct of its parliamentary elections, calling on all Lebanese to respect the results, Ban's associate spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

The secretary-general urged Lebanese to work together in the spirit of coexistence and democracy, Haq told a regular news briefing.

"The secretary-general hopes that the process of government formation will commence expeditiously and that it will take place in a calm and secure environment," Haq said.

Sunday's elections and the formation of a new government in the coming period "represent further important steps along the path of the revitalization of the state's political institutions," Haq quoted Ban as saying.

The secretary-general looked forward to the full consolidation of Lebanon's sovereignty, stability, unity and political independence in accordance with the Taif Accord and relevant Security Council resolutions, Haq said.

Voting of Lebanon's parliamentary elections began on Sunday morning amid tight security measures to prevent any incident which could hinder what is seen as the most important elections in the history of the country.

Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced on Monday that the western-backed ruling coalition won the election with 71 out of the 128 parliament seats, while the Hezbollah-led opposition got 57 seats.

Source: Xinhua