Lebanon: what changes to expect after the legislative elections?

Billboard depicting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri with the inscription 'A man of moderation and national unity' in al-Ghaziyeh, southern Lebanon, April 21, 2022. Picture taken April 21 2022. REUTERS - AZIZ TAHER

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1 min

At the end of the legislative elections, Hezbollah and its allies from other communities lost the majority they had held since 2018. More than a dozen candidates, out of the 128 in Parliament, are from the protest movement against class Politics.

Will these elections bring change?

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

The irremovable Nabih Berry, who has led the legislature for more than a quarter of a century, will probably be reappointed for lack of an alternative for the opposition and the elected representatives of the protest.

Hezbollah and "Amal", led by this fine political sleuth, now 84 years old, won the 27 seats reserved for Shiites, the community from which the speaker of the Chamber comes.

Nabih Berry is their perpetual candidate.

Tough and staring colleagues

What will change is the composition of the office of the Chamber, responsible for preparing the agenda for parliamentary sessions.

Nabih Berry will no longer have his hands as free as in the past.

He will have to count with tough and watchful colleagues, who will want to have their say.

The election of 13 protesting candidates

could initiate an unusual dynamic in Parliament.

Among the elected representatives of the protest are indeed experts in different fields and activists of the first hour.

Their number is sufficient to seize the Constitutional Council and make legislative proposals.

A measured optimism

But the optimism must remain measured, because the Parliament remains largely dominated by the traditional parties and the representatives of the old Lebanese political families.

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