Hezbollah chief again expresses support for on-time elections, says he does not seek a two-thirds majority in Parliament

BEIRUT — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday emphasized again that his party fully supports holding the upcoming parliamentary elections as scheduled for May 15, alleging that “some internal political parties and foreign embassies are trying to postpone [the vote] because polls show that we [Hezbollah and its allies] are going to win.”

Here’s what we know:

    • During the speech about the upcoming polls, Nasrallah said that those who are trying to postpone the elections “might be hoping that Future Movement gets back in the race or Hezbollah’s rivals would be better prepared after a few months.” On Jan. 24, Future Movement leader Saad Hariri announced his withdrawal from politics and also asked his party to do the same.

    • Just over a month out from the elections, it appears that the vote will go ahead on schedule. Last week, a group of Congressmen sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to “urge the administration to call upon and work with the Lebanese officials to ensure that the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15, 2022, are carried out on time, transparently and free of corruption.” Earlier today, following a six-day visit to Lebanon, the chief observer of the European Union’s electoral observation mission for the May polls, Gyorgy Holvenyi, said that during his trip he encountered no indication that the elections will be postponed. He also said officials had assured him that there will be sufficient funding to properly run and monitor the polls.

    • Nasrallah also said that his party does not seek to earn two-thirds of seats in Parliament — a majority that would enable it to make amendments to the constitution. However, he said, “Our intention is to only earn a majority of seats … we want everyone to be represented fairly.” Nasrallah has previously emphasized the need to support his party’s allies in the upcoming parliamentary elections so that “the majority in Parliament remains in [our] hands.”

    • The Hezbollah leader also criticized how some parties do not have electoral programs “that tackle the economic crisis and the interests of people, instead they only call for the dismantling of the resistance’s weapons.”

    • On March 2, Nasrallah also expressed his certainty that the May 15 polls will go ahead, saying “do not think that there is anything that will lead to the postponement of the elections.” He also announced the party’s candidates in several constituencies.