... a Leb political party established by former minister, MP, and Syrian stooge Weaam Wahhab in 2006. Supporters of the party are mainly Druze and it is a part of the March 8 (Hezbollah) Alliance. A bomb exploded outside a party office in the Chouf in 2012.
leader Wiam Wahhab, and Assaad Hardan of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party have lost in Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to early results.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch started the buffalo stampeding......
the LF said it won at least 20 seats, adding five members from the 2018 vote. This would make it the largest Christian bloc in parliament, replacing the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
The October 17 forces said they won at least seven seats, three in Beirut II, three in Chouf-Aley and one in South III, with a reported probability of a second breakthrough in the South III.
Hardan, a strong Hizbullah
...
Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as
The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
ally in the third district in the South reportedly lost his seat to the independent candidate Elias Jradeh, while another independent, Mark Daou, running in the Mount
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...region of Aley against longtime Druze politician Talal Arslan, said he's "heading to a big victory."
In Beirut II, the list backed by ex-PM Fouad al-Saniora won one seat and the Hizbullah, Amal, FPM list won three seats, while the October 17 forces won at least two seats. The PSP candidate on Saniora's backed list, MP Faisal al-Sayegh, lost his seat to the Druze candidate who ran on MP Fouad Makhzoumi's list. The latter's list won two seats.
In Beirut I, the LF have won so far 3 seats, while independent candidate Paula Yaacoubian's list Li Watani won two seats, the FPM won two and the Kataeb two.
In Sidon-Jezzine, the LF won 2 seats and the Free Patriotic Movement and Amal lost in an unprecedented defeat in this district.
Ghada Ayyoub (LF), Abdel Rahman al-Bizri, Oussama Saad, Said al Asmar (LF) and independent candidate Charbel Massaad won the highest votes in the district.
In Batroun, FPM chief Jebran Bassil maintained his seat while the LF won the second seat by a higher number of votes.
In West Bekaa, according to early results, Hassan Murad, Wael Abou Faour, Qabalan Qabalan, Charbel Maroun, independent candidate Yassin Yassin, and Ghassan Skaf will likely win, while Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli will likely lose.
In Akkar, the FPM won three seats while ex-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
affiliated, MP Hadi Hbeish, has lost.
In Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
-Minieh-Dinniyeh, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi's list has won at least 3 seats, for the first time, with one seat to an allied LF candidate, while Faisal Karami's seat is not guaranteed yet.
In the Metn district, the Kataeb, the LF, and the FPM have won 2 seats each. Michel Murr and Hagop Pakradounian have also won.
In Baadba, the FPM lost one of its past seats to an LF-allied candidate Camille Chamoun of the National Libaral Party (al-Ahrar).
Al Ahram explains:
Early results: Lebanon's Hezbollah suffers election losses[AlAhram] Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and its allies appear to have suffered some losses in this weekend's parliamentary elections, with their opponents gaining more seats and some of their traditional partners not making it into the legislature, early results showed Monday.
Despite the apparent setback, Hezbollah and its main Shiite ally, the Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, are likely to retain the 27 seats allocated to the sect. The unofficial results show that independents, including those from the 2019 protest movement, made some gains by removing longtime politicians from parliament.
The closely watched elections on Sunday were the first since a devastating economic crisis erupted in Lebanon in October 2019, triggering nationwide protests against the ruling class blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement.
It was also the first election since the August 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed parts of the Lebanese capital. The blast, widely blamed on negligence, was set off by hundreds of tons of poorly stored ammonium nitrate that ignited in a port warehouse.
The Saudi-backed Christian Lebanese Forces party, which has been among the most vocal critics of the Iran-armed Hezbollah, says it won at least 20 seats, adding five members from the 2018 vote. This would make it the largest Christian bloc in parliament, replacing the Free Patriotic Movement that was founded by President Michel Aoun and has been a Hezbollah ally since 2006.
Independents also appear to be making some significant gains, but they remain far from making changes as the main winners of the vote are likely to be mainstream political group.
A strong Hezbollah ally in south Lebanon reportedly lost his seat to an independent, while another independent, Mark Daou, says ``we are heading to a big victory.'' Daou is running in the Mount Lebanon region of Aley against longtime Druze politician Talal Arslan.
Official results were expected to be announced later Monday.
Lebanon holds elections every four years and the new parliament will elect a new president after Aoun's term ends in October.