Hezbollah Victory in Lebanon's Parliament Shakes US, Allies

Rasa - Hezbollah resistance movement is poised to be a dominant force in Lebanon's next parliament, based on official but incomplete election results announced; an outcome that probably will unsettle the United States and its Persian Gulf allies.

News ID: 437592

Date: 09 May 2018 - 22:40

RNA - Hezbollah and its political allies won more than half the 128 seats, giving the resistance movement the power to block any attempt by its foreign and domestic opponents to force the group to disarm.

Lebanon's Interior Ministry has announced the names of the winning candidates in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. According to the vote count, Hezbollah and its allies namely will form the majority in parliament. The group's allies include the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Christian Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, an ally of Washington and Riyadh, had also announced that his party has lost a third of seats in the parliamentary elections, stressing that the international community should look at the results of Lebanon's election in a "very positive way”.

Before the official results were announced, supporters of the major parties started celebrating, driving through Beirut and other cities in cars decked out with party flags and firing guns in celebration.

The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement Sayed Hassan Nasrallah has lauded ensuring an atmosphere of calm and security for the country’s general elections as a national achievement, describing the results as a major victory for the resistance group.

Nasrallah has hailed the vote results as “a great moral and political victory for Hezbollah, which protects the country”, emphasizing that Hezbollah needs a strong representation in the parliament in order to fight corruption, honor its promises and build Lebanon.

“The United States and some Persian Gulf states resorted to smear campaign in a bid to poison public opinion towards Hezbollah. Their efforts, however, ended in failure,” he pointed out.

According to Fars News Agancy, Nasrallah has also warned against threats being made by Israeli officials against Syria, Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran, stressing that they were worrisome for Middle East nations.

Hezbollah maintains Lebanon's most powerful military force and has deployed thousands of its forces to neighboring Syria to fight against terrorist groups such as ISIL and al-Nusra Front along with the army of President Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon's first parliamentary vote in nine years was held on Sunday, with over 500 candidates vying for seats, as turnout was 49.2 percent.

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