Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, while more than a dozen independents gained seats, according to final tally.
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, while more than a dozen independents gained seats, according to final tally. The results signal a significant shift in country gripped by a devastating financial meltdown. The Hezbollah-led coalition won 61 seats in the 128-member legislature, a drop of 10 members since the last vote was held four years ago. The loss was largely due to setbacks suffered by the group’s political partners, and was not expected to weaken the Iran-backed group’s domination of Lebanese politics. All 13 Hezbollah candidates who ran got elected. Still, the results were hailed as a breakthrough for groups opposed to Hezbollah and the country’s other mainstream political parties blamed for the collapse, introducing more new independent faces than was expected. Hezbollah’s most vocal opponents, the nationalist Christian Lebanese Forces party, emerged as the biggest winner, while its Christian rival, the Free Patriotic Movement founded by President Michel Aoun, suffered a political setback. Though Christian, the Free Patriotic Movement is an ally of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah. The Lebanese Forces now has the largest bloc in parliament with 19 seats, overtaking the Free Patriotic Movement, which now holds 17 seats, a drop of three seats from the previous vote.
