Lebanon Elections: Early results show Hezbollah suffering electoral losses

Lebanon Elections: Early results show Hezbollah suffering electoral losses

The closely watched elections on Sunday were the first since a devastating economic crisis erupted in Lebanon in October 2019, triggering nationwide protests against the ruling class blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Monday, May 16, 2022, 03:55 PM IST
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Posters expressing support for the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, hang on a main road in the capital Beirut, on May 14, 2022, on the eve of parliamentary elections | AFP

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies appear to have suffered losses in this weekend’s parliamentary elections with preliminary results Monday showing their strongest opponents picking up more seats and some of their traditional partners routed out of the legislature.

Despite the apparent setback, Hezbollah and its main Shiite ally, the Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, are likely to retain the 27 seats allocated to the sect.

It was not clear, however, whether the Iran-backed group and its allies would hang on to the majority they have held since 2018, when they had 71 of the 128 seats in parliament.

Meanwhile, independents, including those from the 2019 protest movement, scooped up at least 10 seats, a major achievement considering they went into the vote fragmented and facing intimidation and threats by entrenched mainstream parties.

Their showing sends a strong message to ruling class politicians who have held on to their seats despite a devastating economic collapse that has plunged the majority of the country into poverty.

The mixed bag ensures a sharply polarized parliament with lawmakers who will likely find it difficult to work together to pass the laws needed to begin the financial recovery and support a government with enormous challenges that lie ahead.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is hoping to return as head of a post-election government, urged groups and independents who will be represented in the new parliament to move quickly “because what we are passing through cannot withstand (political) bickering at the expense of priorities.”

Mikati was apparently referring to consultations that are expected to begin soon to name a new prime minister whose government’s main mission will be to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund to work on getting Lebanon out of its paralyzing economic crisis. The legislature will have to draft new laws related to the economic crisis, such as a capital controls law.

With votes still being counted, unofficial results showed Hezbollah’s Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun, losing ground to its traditional Christian rivals, the rightwing Lebanese Forces headed by Samir Geagea.

The closely watched elections on Sunday were the first since a devastating economic crisis erupted in Lebanon in October 2019, triggering nationwide protests against the ruling class blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement.

A total of 718 candidates from 15 electoral districts were running for seats in the 128-member parliament. Going into the poll, Hezbollah and its allies retained 71 seats. Their support base was expected to hold firm against a handful of secular Shia candidates and a push by mainstream parties backed by western states.

Since the last election, the country has been mutilated by a blast at the Beirut port that went down as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and deepened one of the most spectacular economic downturns of our time.

The Lebanese pound has lost 95 percent of its value, people’s savings are blocked in banks, minimum wage won’t buy a tank of gas and mains electricity comes on only two hours a day.

More than 80% of the population is now considered poor by the United Nations, with the most desperate increasingly attempting perilous boat crossings to flee to Europe.

Once described as the Switzerland of the Middle East, Lebanon ranked second-to-last behind Afghanistan in the latest World Happiness Index released in March.

Numbed by the daily hardships of the economic crisis, many registered voters have seemed indifferent to an election that they doubted would even be held until a few days ago.

Despite international pressure to reform Lebanese politics, the corruption that sank the country is still rife, including in the electoral process.

The crisis has only widened the gap in purchasing power between the politicians who buy votes and the electorate that sells them.

(with inputs from agencies)

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