Lebanon holds a crucial presidential election amidst political turmoil and the aftermath of a devastating war with Israel. The election will test the weakened influence of Hizbollah, a Shia militant group, and its ability to maintain control over the country's politics.
Lebanese lawmakers are due to elect a president on Thursday in a critical gauge of how a weakened Hizbollah will be able to wield its influence over the country’s politics following a devastating war with Israel. Lebanon has not had a president since October 2022, the position left vacant amid bitter divisions between the Iran-backed Shia militant group and political party and its political rivals.
Critics have accused Hizbollah, long Lebanon’s dominant political and military force, of blocking, alongside its allies, the parliamentary majority required for lawmakers to elect a head of state in 12 previous attempts. But whether the group will be able to maintain that chokehold is now in question following Israel’s offensive, which decimated Hizbollah’s military capabilities and leadership, including killing its longtime head Hassan Nasrallah. “All their rivals are salivating, chomping at the bit, thinking: ‘OK now we can get them’,” said Amal Saad, an academic and Hizbollah expert. “Hizbollah has to prove that it’s still powerful.” The stakes are high: a caretaker government with limited powers has overseen one of the country’s most tumultuous periods, including a years-long political and economic crisis. The brutal war with Israel, which began after Hizbollah started firing towards Israel following Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack, has also left broad swaths of Lebanon in ruins. Ending the political malaise will be critical to unlocking donor support for reconstruction and tackling the crisis, with countries including the US and Saudi Arabia in recent days applying pressure to elect a president that will be tougher on Hizbollah. The fragile ceasefire that ended the hostilities in November is also at risk, with the outcome of Thursday’s vote linked to the state’s ability to clear Hizbollah’s weapons out of southern Lebanon and ensure the exit of Israeli forces
LEBANON Hizbollah PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ISRAEL WAR POLITICS
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