Lebanon At Crossroads Following Parliamentary Election

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

The results of the Lebanon Parliamentary election on June 7th represent a step forward for the country, but sectarian division still exists and may de-stabilize the nation in the future said Middle East experts who gathered at a forum today at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C.

“The fact that the election went smoothly gives us hope…It could potentially put Lebanon on a positive trajectory toward greater reform and reconciliation,” said Mona Yacoubian, a special advisor to the Institute’s Muslim World Initiative.

The opposition, including the Maronite leader Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, did not pick up any seats in Parliament. Middle East Institute Scholar Graeme Bannerman attributed this to the fact that the country’s Sunni population voted mainly in support of Lebanon’s pro-Western bloc, known as the ‘“March 14th Coalition.” Bannerman added that “General Aoun’s people lost support within the Christian community.”

Despite the results, Hezbollah still remains a strong influence in the country, and the next government will have to find a way to work with the anti-Western organization said most of the panel’s participants.

“The Hezbollah is positioning itself for a kind of a deal” that will involve a political status quo on the organization’s militarization said Randa Slim, a scholar at the USIP.

Because of the Hezbollah’s control in local districts of Lebanon, the government, led by the ‘March 14 Coalition,’ “will be less likely to call in the immediate term for Hezbollah’s disarmament,” added Slim.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister will soon release the county-by-county election results.