Hezbollah, allies lose parliament majority
LEBANESE FORCES PARTY BIGGEST WINNER IN ELECTION
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, final elections results showed yesterday, while more than a dozen independent newcomers gained seats.
Final results for Sunday’s elections showed no clear majority for any political bloc. Parliament is divided between pro- and anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who will find it difficult to work together to form a new government and enact desperately needed reforms.
The Hezbollah-led coalition won 61 seats in the 128-member legislature, a drop of 10 members since the last election in 2018. It’s a loss largely due to setbacks suffered by its allies as all 13 Hezbollah candidates who ran got elected.
Free Patriotic Movement loses three seats
Hezbollah’s most vocal opponent, the nationalist Christian Lebanese Forces party, emerged as the biggest winner, while its Christian rival, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) founded by President Michel Aoun, suffered a setback.
The FPM is an ally of the Shiite Hezbollah. The Lebanese Forces now has the largest bloc in parliament with 21 seats,
overtaking the FPM, which now holds 18 seats, a drop of three seats from 2018. Hezbollah and its main ally, the Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, retained 27 seats allocated to the Shiite sect.
Independents and newcomers,, including those from the 2019 protest movement, scooped 14 seats. The biggest
loss came to Hezbollah’s allies with close links to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s government, including deputy parliament speaker Elie Ferzli, Druze politician Talal Arslan, Asaad Hardan and Faisal Karami.
UN chief urges formation of ‘inclusive government’
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called for the “swift formation of an inclusive government” that can finalise an agreement with the IMF and accelerate the implementation of reforms necessary to set Lebanon on the path to recovery.
Two Lebanese lawmakers charged in connection with the 2020 Beirut port blast have been re-elected in the first poll since the catastrophe, leaving some families of victims fearing further delays in a stalled investigation into the explosion.
Many in Lebanon blame the disaster, which killed more than 215 people, on safety failings by senior political and security officials. Accountability for the blast emerged as a main rallying issue for opposition candidates and voters.
Interior Ministry results show Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, both running with the Hezbollah-backed Shiite Amal Movement, won seats in Baalbek-Hermel and south Lebanon respectively.
Charged in December 2020
Khalil and Zeaiter were charged in December 2020 but deny any wrongdoing and have declined to attend interrogation hearings, citing immunity afforded to them by their parliamentary seats.
Rima Zahed, whose brother Amin died in the blast and who sits on a committee representing victims, described their victory as a “farce”.
Another committee member, Kayan Tleis, whose 39-year-old brother Mohammad died in the explosion, said: “We are troubled and provoked and don’t want anybody to be above the law.” An arrest warrant was issued for Khalil but was not implemented by security forces, who cited parliamentary immunity. Lawsuits filed by suspects including the two MPS against the judge investigating the blast have stalled the probe for months.
Still, victims’ relatives said they were encouraged by wins by newcomer opposition candidates in Beirut, who took five of 19 seats across the capital’s two electoral districts.
“We have more people in parliament who can work for us... They are people who will help our cause,” Tleis said. “I hope we will not have to wait long for justice.” Newcomers who won include the former head of the Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf, who was backed by the families of some blast victims.