In the shadow of an economic crisis, deep corruption and the grip of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon: Crowds of citizens from Lebanon will go to the polls tomorrow (Sunday) in the parliamentary elections in the Land of the Cedars.
"I have heard from people that voting for the free patriotic current is a vote for Hezbollah," Jabran Basil, the leader of the Christian ruling party and an ally of the Shiite terrorist organization for years, said over the weekend.
Basil tried to defend himself and in response said that a vote for the Christian Lebanese forces party, his main rival in the elections, is a vote for ISIS, Israel and "their regional allies".
The accusation of collaborating with Israel has become a popular curse in the Lebanese elections.
Ironically, Basil himself became embroiled in a scandal on Friday when he said in a television interview that he would be happy if Lebanon reached peace with Israel, and Hezbollah did not respond to him on the matter.
However, Basil of course reserved the same sentence that peace has its "conditions".
This reservation, which referred to the Arab peace initiative that demands, among other things, a comprehensive withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights, did not help Basil. Social networks crushed him.
The queues for the polls, Photo: AP
The unique electoral system causes Christians to compete with each other
It is too early to know whether the scandal will have an impact on Election Day.
However, because of the country's unique electoral system, Basil's Christian party is facing the Lebanese forces, hostile to Hezbollah, for the same seats.
Half of the 128 seats in parliament are distributed to Christians in the country, and out of this quota 34 are allocated to the Maronite community.
If the free patriots experience defeat, it will make it difficult for the Hezbollah camp to form a government.
This is where the second half of the parliamentary seats comes into play - 64 representatives divided into Muslims (27 for Shiites and 27 for Sunnis, 8 for Druze and 2 for Alawites).
What may be devouring the cards is the lack of a clear leader for the Sunnis in the upcoming election.
Saad Hariri, the former prime minister, resigned from political life in January amid Hezbollah accusations.
His brother Baha al-Hariri, who was the one who pinned his hopes on him, will also not run.
Hence the Sunni bloc comes to the polls when it is divided.
How will the lack of Sunni leadership affect Hezbollah's control?
Hezbollah appears to be planning to take advantage of the disintegration of the Sunni bloc to form a coalition of party-breakers, even in the event of a defeat in the Maronite sector.
Either way, it is estimated that even if the election results bear a series of defeats to Hezbollah, the terrorist organization will turn to other avenues to maintain its hegemony, such as state paralysis.
This will allow the current government, made up of its allies, to continue to de facto rule for many more months.
Will Hezbollah leader succeed in forming a government? Photo: Hassan Sabah
About six months ago, the Iraqi election heralded a defeat for the pro-Iranian camp.
Despite this, so far the same Shiite current, led by Mokeda Sadr, is having a hard time forming a coalition.
Experience shows that even in Lebanon, Iran will not easily give up its influence.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
