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Michel Hélou elected Secretary-General of National Bloc

Michel Hélou elected Secretary-General of National Bloc

Michel Hélou, new secretary general of the National Bloc. (Credit: Courtesy Michel Hélou/Facebook)

Michel Hélou, former general director of L'Orient-Le Jour and unsuccessful candidate in the Lebanese parliamentary elections, was elected on Thursday evening as secretary general of the National Bloc party.

The ballot, which included 42 members of the general assembly of the Bloc, also elected the members of the executive council of the party: Ibrahim Hilal, Paul Saber, Hussein el-Achi, Salam Yamout, Camille Mourani, Lea Ghanem, Lynn Harfoush and Naji Abi Khalil.

The members of the General Assembly — a sort of parliament for the party — were elected during a consultation of members of the National Bloc, which took place over three days in mid-September.

In a series of tweets published shortly after his election, Hélou said he was "very honored" to receive 63 percent of the vote and thanked the party's members for their confidence.

He also thanked his predecessor, Pierre Issa, "who gave a lot to the Bloc during four years and allowed the renewal" of this party, "which plays an essential role in the fight for change" in Lebanon.

He also stressed that Lebanon "needs a clear political alternative to the ruling class dating from the civil war, which leaves the old ideological and confessional frameworks." This alternative must "be able to address the youth and the Lebanese emigrants." 

"The period also requires objectivity and realism. Lebanon has changed; the economy has collapsed, as have the institutions. The youth have emigrated, the elders despair, but our struggle does not end in a slogan, in a demonstration, or even in an election campaign. Our struggle is the struggle of a generation," Hélou added.

Michel Hélou ran in the May parliamentary elections in Baabda, where he won some 5,483 votes.

The National Bloc — founded in 1943 by former Lebanese president Emile Edde — was relaunched in February 2019, a few months before the nationwide protests in October. 

Michel Hélou, former general director of L'Orient-Le Jour and unsuccessful candidate in the Lebanese parliamentary elections, was elected on Thursday evening as secretary general of the National Bloc party.The ballot, which included 42 members of the general assembly of the Bloc, also elected the members of the executive council of the party: Ibrahim Hilal, Paul Saber, Hussein el-Achi, Salam...