BEIRUT (Dispatches) – A
high-ranking official of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has stressed the need to elect the country’s new president through dialogue and domestic consensus without any foreign interference.
“We believe that Lebanese people should elect a president for their Lebanon. What will save our country is to spring into action and pick the next head of state without further waste of time. Those who intend to prolong the political process for the election of the president should know that such an approach will not benefit them,” the head of Hezbollah Executive Council, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, said during a ceremony in the southern Lebanese village of Kharayeb.
He added that enemies have used all means at their disposal in order to plunge the country into chaos, noting that Hezbollah and its allies have, however, withstood such attempts and thwarted the seditious moves.
“Despite all the lies and campaigns that certain parties and embassies have launched against Hezbollah, the movement has always remained committed to the principle of de-escalation,” he said.
“We care about Lebanon more than anyone else. We are decent and strong enough to defend our rights and our nation. The deceptive gestures and tall tales of foreign embassies are actually meant to create chaos within the Lebanese society. We must exercise vigilance and deal with enemies’ bids fiercely,” the Hezbollah official highlighted.
Moreover, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, said “latest developments” have increased the chances for “consensus” on presidential election.
“It is our foremost priority to elect a president, prevent collapse of the economy and rescue the country. The main priority of the rival camp, however, is to embark on a new adventure and alter the domestic political equations,” the senior Hezbollah official said.
“They want to seize control of the country to change its identity, position and regional role, and put it on the path of normalization [with the Zionist regime],” Sheikh Qaouk added.
“There are now international sides, besides lawmakers and political forces in Lebanon that have changed their stance in favor of the consensus plan. They have come to realize that the only way out of the ongoing crisis is through dialog,” he said, noting that such a change of position has “infuriated” the rival camp and prompted it to wage a “smear campaign against Hezbollah and its supporters.”
Lebanon’s presidency has seen stalemate several times since the 1975-1990 civil war. The country has also had only a caretaker government since May 2022.
The Arab country has been mired in an economic crisis that the World Bank has described as one of the worst in recent history, which comes amid crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies.
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 95 percent of its value on the black market since 2019.
According to the United Nations, the ongoing financial crisis in Lebanon has caused poverty rates to reach more than 80 percent of the population, and food prices have risen by an astonishing 2,000 percent.