BEIRUT: Claims on Monday of vote-rigging tarnished a powerful showing by Hezbollah in Lebanon’s first election in nine years.
Protesters gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Beirut alleging that Joumana Haddad, a novelist and candidate with the independent Kulna Watani list, had been robbed of a seat.
“The people in power didn’t like this result, so they proceeded with rigging the result at the last minute,” said Lucian Bourjeily, another Watani candidate.
Nevertheless, Hezbollah and its allies won more than half the seats in Parliament in a result that the the Iran-backed militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah called a “political and moral victory.” After his speech his supporters rampaged through parts of Beirut, flying their yellow flags.
The Future Movement of Prime Minister Saad Hariri lost a third of its seats, the outcome of years of erosion to his March 14 coalition.
The election also saw a return to Parliament of figures linked to the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad. Syrian forces occupied Lebanon for decades but retreated amid a backlash after the assassination of Hariri’s father, Rafiq, in 2005.
Syria’s political influence in Lebanon had waned but with Assad’s position now more secure, many fear the results now show Damascus’ influence rising again.
An image showing a Hezbollah flag attached to the statue of Rafiq Hariri sparked outrage on social media. Turnout was poor. Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk put the national vote at 49 percent, compared with 54 percent in 2009. In Beirut, the turnout was between 32 percent and 42 percent.
Hariri blamed the new electoral system based on proportional representation and a performance “that wasn’t up to the standard.”
He will still have the largest Sunni bloc in Parliament, meaning he should return as prime minister.
“My hand is extended to every Lebanese person who participated in the elections to preserve stability and create jobs,” Hariri said.
He said he would continue to work closely with President Michel Aoun, who is allied with the rival, Hezbollah-led bloc.
