The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, described the results of the recent parliamentary elections as "resonant", and believed that they had achieved the "required change." Meanwhile, the United States imposed new sanctions on figures and entities linked to Hezbollah.
Geagea said - in a press conference after the first meeting of his new parliamentary bloc, which includes 19 deputies - that the majority is no longer with Hezbollah and its ally the Free Patriotic Movement, and he saw that there is a "new majority", but it is not with a particular party, as he put it.
Geagea pointed out that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah "considered in his speech yesterday that there was no majority, that is, he admitted losing the majority."
He said, "The blocs produced by the elections agreed on the main basic points, namely sovereignty, the presence of weapons outside the Lebanese army, and the issue of corruption."
Geagea added, "We are the largest bloc in the parliament, and we will bear our responsibility on this basis. Hezbollah helped the Free Movement win some representatives."
Regarding the selection of a new speaker of the House of Representatives, Geagea said that his bloc’s representatives will not elect Nabih Berri, the outgoing parliament speaker, leader of the Amal movement, stressing that any candidate for this position must pledge to ensure that strategic decisions are taken by the government and the state.
"The forces have very clear specifications for the Speaker of Parliament that do not apply to Speaker Nabih Berri, and any new candidate must pledge to implement the parliament's internal system literally," he said.
Hezbollah and its allies, the Amal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement, won less than the 65 seats needed to achieve a majority in the 128-seat Lebanese parliament, after it had with its allies about 70 deputies in the outgoing parliament.
The parliamentary elections were held last Sunday in light of the worst economic crisis in Lebanon's history.
The national currency has depreciated more than 90% against the dollar, and the unemployment rate has nearly tripled to 30% since 2019.
About 12 activists and a new face of reformist orientations were elected to the new parliament, with the support of the protest movement and the popular anger that escalated after the financial collapse.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah admitted losing the majority, calling on the parliamentary blocs in the new parliament to cooperate.
Nasrallah said - in his speech yesterday, Wednesday - "We are in front of a parliament consisting of parliamentary blocs and independents, and there is no political group in the country today that has a parliamentary majority."
Nasrallah warned that the alternative to partnership and cooperation is "emptiness, chaos and failure," calling for "pacification of media debates from all parties, and we are all concerned with calming the country."
On the other hand, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization on Thursday.
The ministry said in a statement on its website that its Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on 6 persons of Lebanese nationality and 8 entities, all of them linked to Hezbollah's activities.
The ministry accused the Lebanese businessman, Ahmed Jalal Reda Abdullah, of being a financial intermediary for Hezbollah, and said that Abdullah, 5 of his associates and 8 of his companies in Lebanon and Iraq were subject to sanctions by being included in the list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.