Hizbollah's Nasrallah: Lebanese election a 'great victory' for the resistance

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — After Lebanese PM Saad Hariri announced that his Future Movement lost a third of the Sunni group's seats in parliamentary elections, the leader of Lebanon's Hizbollah praised the provisional results as a "moral victory."

"This is a great political and moral victory for the resistance option that protects the sovereignty of the country," Hizbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Monday.

It was Lebanon's first general election in nine years.

"I extend my hand to every Lebanese to participate in shoring up securing political stability and to improve the lives of all the Lebanese," Hariri said in a separate address, according to Reuters.

In accordance with a national pact, Lebanon's prime minister has been a Sunni Muslim, its parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim, and its president a Maronite Christian.

Hariri said his movement won 21 seats, down from 33 in the 2009 election.

He blamed the losses on new electoral laws and a performance "that wasn't up to the standard," according to AP.

Lebanon has an estimated population of just more than 6 million.

Because of the protracted Syrian conflict, the UNHCR estimates that fewer than 1 million refugees are in the country.

Beirut estimates, including unregistered refugees, the figure is closer to 1.5 million, excluding nearly 500,000 Palestinan refugees.

 

Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hizbollah has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and United Kingdom, but not by the United Nations or European Union.

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