BEIRUT: Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections on June 7, the interior ministry announced yesterday.
“The ministry of interior announces the promulgation of a decree calling on voters to elect legislators,” a statement said. It added that the vote will take place on Sunday June 7, rather than being held on separate days for different regions, as has been the case in previous elections.
The election is considered important as it could well see Hezbollah and its allies win a majority of the seats in Parliament.
Such an outcome would deal a major blow to the Western-backed parties which won a majority in the last elections in 2005 on the back of a wave of anti-Syrian sentiment following the assassination of ex-Premier Rafiq Hariri.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has veto power over major decisions in the current national unity government formed in July following a political crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war.
The crisis was defused following a Qatari-brokered deal in May that led to the election of army commander Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government and a new electoral law being drawn up.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said yesterday that all factions in Lebanon’s governing coalition, including Hezbollah, are keen not to get dragged into another conflict with Israel, at least for now.
“This expression of solidarity, of a unified position, of an emphasis on stability... is tantamount to saying that Lebanon as a country of many factions doesn’t want to see itself dragged into this conflict,” Mitri told reporters.
“We have not received from Hezbollah any sign that they will risk dragging Lebanon into this conflict,” Mitri said as Israel’s deadly onslaught against Gaza entered its 10th day. There have been fears that the conflict could spill over with another front opening up in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006.
But Mitri played down such a scenario saying that the Lebanese government, in which Hezbollah is represented, has made it clear it does not want another war with its neighbor.
“The stakes are high in Lebanon and I think the population in the south doesn’t want another conflict,” he said.
“There is consensus in Lebanon that there is no interest for Lebanon to have another war in the south.” He warned, however, that if the conflict in Gaza drags on and casualties mount, there could be an escalation.
