{"id":4046,"date":"2022-05-17T21:04:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T02:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whia.us\/?p=4046"},"modified":"2022-05-17T21:05:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T02:05:37","slug":"hezbollah-and-allies-lose-majority-in-lebanons-parliamentary-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/4046\/","title":{"rendered":"Hezbollah and allies lose majority in Lebanon\u2019s parliamentary elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sarah Dadouch and Nader Durgham<\/strong>
\nSource: Washington Post<\/strong><\/p>\n

An electoral worker sits next to boxes as Lebanon awaits official election results in a vote held Sunday. (Mohamed Azakir\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

BEIRUT \u2014 Hezbollah, the Iranian-aligned political party and militant group, and its allies have lost their majority in Lebanon\u2019s parliament after elections that delivered gains to the group\u2019s rivals, according to results released Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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\nThe results mean a more sharply divided parliament that could complicate the task of forming a government as Lebanon weathers its worst economic crisis. They also showed that independent candidates may have won at least 10 percent of seats, a sign of voter anger over how Lebanon\u2019s long-serving politicians have managed the economy.<\/p>\n

In the election held Sunday, Hezbollah and its allies ran against a Saudi-aligned bloc headed by politicians who came to prominence as warlords during Lebanon\u2019s 15-year civil war. That group is led by the Lebanese Forces, a right-wing Christian party whose rallying cry is Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament.<\/p>\n

Neither bloc won a parliamentary majority, according to representatives from Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces, though the Hezbollah-led alliance retained the larger share of seats, with 61 so far \u2014 down from at least 70 after the last parliamentary elections in 2018. Hezbollah could regain the majority if it persuaded some independent candidates to join its bloc.<\/p>\n

The new parliament will select the country\u2019s next prime minister and elect a new president after the term of Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, ends in October. Analysts said a more even distribution of seats between the blocs would probably result in gridlock, delaying the government\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n

If the results hold, one fight in the new political landscape could be over who serves as the parliament\u2019s speaker, said Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center. Hezbollah\u2019s losses mean that the current speaker, Nabih Berri, who has held the position since 1992 and is one of Hezbollah\u2019s closest allies, may lose his post.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the Lebanese Forces would oppose Berri, a spokesman said, \u201cIt goes without saying that things cannot continue the way they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political squabbling could be disastrous for Lebanon, which urgently needs a government that can continue negotiations for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund. Delays could also imperil pledges of aid from the international community, including governments such as France and Saudi Arabia that have been hesitant to fund a Hezbollah-controlled government.<\/p>\n

More than a dozen seats in parliament went to independent candidates who sprang out of a protest movement two years ago against Lebanon\u2019s political class, widely seen as corrupt and ineffective. Many of the independents had also promised to deliver justice to victims of an explosion in Beirut\u2019s port in 2020 that killed moire than 200 people and destroyed much of the city\u2019s center.<\/p>\n

The victorious independents included Elias Jradi, an ophthalmologist who won a seat previously held by a Hezbollah ally in southern Lebanon, the group\u2019s center of support, and Ibrahim Mneimneh, an architect from Beirut who made headlines when he said in an interview that he was in favor of removing laws that criminalize homosexuality.<\/p>\n

The elections came amid claims by the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, an independent monitor, of \u201cblatant violations, pressure, intimidation and weak organization.\u201d The recorded violations included violence against the LADE\u2019s volunteer monitors; party supporters unlawfully following voters to booths; and ballot boxes missing accompanying records.<\/p>\n

The European Union\u2019s Election Observation Mission also said in a preliminary report that \u201celections were overshadowed by widespread practices of vote buying and clientelism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turnout was low in cities across Lebanon, despite entreaties by politicians for citizens to go to the polls. In Beirut, Rania Safar, a 48-year-old schoolteacher, cast her vote against traditional parties, voicing cautious hope for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe road will be long,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I have hopes that there will be breakthroughs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rania Safar, a 48-year-old schoolteacher, cast her vote against traditional parties, voicing cautious hope for change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[142,199,128],"tags":[322,323,147,159],"series":[1027],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-4046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-most-important-topics-en","category-top-stories","category-updates-en","tag-election","tag-hozballah","tag-iran-en","tag-lebanon-en","series-whia-synergy"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/for1.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/feed\/podcast\/whia-synergy","embedCode":"

Hezbollah and allies lose majority in Lebanon\u2019s parliamentary elections<\/a><\/blockquote>