Tripoli, Lebanon ? Pro-Syrian candidates appeared headed for defeat Sunday in Lebanon’s first free elections in three decades – a win that would break Damascus’ longtime domination of Lebanese political life and its parliament.

A pro-Syrian leader acknowledged a major defeat for his candidates and an anti-Syrian opposition official said the ticket’s unofficial results indicated a near sweep in the contest for 28 parliamentary seats in northern Lebanon.

Suleiman Franjieh, a Christian former interior minister close to the family of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said: “We bow to the will of the people.”

Whatever the outcome, however, the Christian-Muslim solidarity that emerged after the February assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has been deeply marred by sectarian divisions. The divide has only become more acute in the heated competition leading to the final round of voting in the north of the eastern Mediterranean country.

The ticket led by the slain prime minister’s son, Saad Hariri, must win 21 of the 28 seats in the vote to gain a majority in the 128-member body.

“We’re ahead and we’re very optimistic,” an official in Saad Hariri’s camp said after their count indicated they were winning. The official insisted on anonymity because the final results are not out yet.

The unofficial tally by the campaigns of tickets backed by Hariri appeared to guarantee the opposition a majority in the new legislature and break the hold Syria has held in the parliament for more than a decade.