In an effort to mobilize electorates, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has said that certain sides opposing his party’s joint list with Amal movement in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek-Hermel district were allies of terrorist organizations.
“We will not allow those who are allied with al-Nusra Front and ISIS to represent the people of Baalbek-Hermel,” Nasrallah said Thursday.
According to rivals, his comment came over growing frustration by the residents of the district, which is mainly Shi’ite, at the failure of “Hezbollah” lawmakers to develop the region and provide services to its people.
“The question is not about what Hezbollah has provided for the region, but what contestants from other lists have done,” said Nasrallah, who was cited by the National News Agency.
He urged “Hezbollah” supporters to turn out to vote in the May parliamentary polls, and said he himself would travel to villages and towns in the region to secure favorable election results if necessary, “no matter the cost, and no matter what harm it may cause to me.”
Political activist Dr. Hareth Suleiman said: “The party is facing a huge problem in Baalbek-Hermel. It is using all sorts of weapons to confront it.”
“Its lawmakers and officials have lost credibility,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
If Shi’ite voices opposing the joint list were able to unify, then it would become obvious that the party does not represent all Shi’ites, said the activist.
“Hezbollah” is resorting to slogans such as resistance and protection from extremist organizations, while forgetting that it’s the people who have paid the price of martyrdom in defense of Lebanon in the face of terrorist organizations, he said.
The area of Baalbek-Hermel has suffered several deadly explosions and has been targeted by shelling from al-Nusra Front and ISIS militants who had been based in Syria’s Qalamoun region overlooking Lebanon.
Hezbollah, followed by the Lebanese army, launched military operations against them, leading to their ouster from areas lying on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
There are around 224,000 Shi’ite voters in the Baalbek-Hermel district. There are also respectively 44,000 and 42,000 eligible Sunni and Christian voters.
