The results also portend a sharply polarised parliament, divided between pro and anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who will find it difficult to work together to form a new government and pass laws needed to enact reforms for a financial recovery in Lebanon.

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With two main blocs — Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces — opposed to each other, analysts said the results could lead to more paralysis at a time when the country desperately needs unity.

The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, called for the “swift formation of an inclusive government” that can finalise an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and accelerate the implementation of reforms necessary to set Lebanon on the path to recovery.

The biggest loss came to Hezbollah’s allies with close links to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, including deputy parliament speaker Elie Ferzli, Druze politician Talal Arslan who had held a seat for three decades, Asaad Hardan and Faisal Karami, son of late premier Omar Karami.

Sunday’s parliamentary elections were the first since Lebanon’s economic meltdown began in late 2019. The government’s factions have done virtually nothing to address the collapse, leaving Lebanese to fend for themselves as they plunge into poverty, without electricity, medicine, garbage collection or any other semblance of normal life.

The vote is also the first since a deadly explosion at Beirut’s port in August 2020 that killed more than 200, wounded thousands and damaged parts of the capital.

AP

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