Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah delivers a speech on Al-Manar TV. “Tonight I will tackle Sunday’s election and the outcome.
First, I would like to congratulate all the Lebanese people, opposition and loyalty, on this great national achievement. I would also like to laud the popular presence that reflects a great national responsibility. This is a positive point. I also seize the moment to thank the ministries and the public administrations, the Lebanese army and the security forces, for the handling of the electoral process and for preserving security and stability. These administrations were in front of a major challenge of holding general elections on a single day. Despite some flaws, which we’ll assess later, the challenge was faced with responsibility. I congratulate the winners who have to know that they have just taken the responsibility of the people. We accept the announced results by the Interior Minister. Contesting the results at the Constitutional Council is another matter. We accept the results and we accept that the rival camp has secured the majority of parliament seats, knowing that the opposition has also kept its seats. In past speeches, I used to say that there is a difference between a parliamentary majority and a popular majority. If most votes have given the majority to the March 14 bloc, I would accept this regardless of our evaluation to the whole process. We accept the result regardless of the huge expenditure that will illustrated in the days to come; regardless of the sectarian incitement and the lies that were aimed to intimidate the public opinion, especially in some particular districts and regardless of open foreign interference, however I will not tackle this tonight and this will not affect our acceptance to the results.”
“I would like to point to two major allegations that have been thwarted: First is the political rhetoric that claimed that the opposition does not want elections to be held and that it will work on sabotaging the political and security situations to prevent elections. It was also claimed that the opposition will not accept the results if they were not in their favor. I’m not saying that this is the rhetoric of all March 14 leaderships, but most of them. The results have come out proved that this was the biggest lie ever that was used in the campaign. We have witnessed a remarkable day of elections with a huge turnout and with no problems. The second lie was their claim that elections cannot be held with Hezbollah keeping its arms, because this would mean that the people will be under pressure and will not be able to express themselves. Articles were written about this point. If the opposition had won, this matter would have been raised again, but now that the March 14 bloc won, no one is mentioning the issue. Today this big lie has been exposed. Elections took place at a time Hezbollah possesses an arsenal of weapons, but nothing has happened. One of the main conclusions is that these weapons are not to impose political realities. The people had their say freely. The whole electoral process has proved the integrity of the party that is using those arms. What important in this experience is that the Lebanese have proven their ability to preserve security and stability and to handle competitiveness even in its sharpest aspects.”
“I would also like to greet all the leaderships and cadres of opposition parties and tell them that we have set an honest national objective to fulfill the project of reform. This is why we have sought after the majority in parliament; to serve this project but not to grab authority. We have fought this battle together and we have confronted what can be named as the global war against us, this is of course General Michel Aoun’s term. If we were not able to serve the project that we have believed in – by being a majority - this will not mean that we have no obligation to serve it from a position. Today, I renew the pledge and call on all opposition leaderships to renew their pledge to commit to our project for reform. This is a non-ending responsibility. Although it is important, however elections are not more than a station on a long road of struggle to fulfill these noble goals. We have to determine our next steps and the way we will deal with the issues of choosing a House Speaker and naming a Prime Minister. “
“I would like to my deep hearted gratitude to all my brothers in Hezbollah and to Hezbollah supporters. There was no competition is south Lebanon and Baalbek-Hermel districts as well as Beirut’s southern suburb, but we have called on voters to have a strong presence to express their political choices and convictions, particularly with regards to the resistance issue, because those were the people who have paid the tax. We noticed that the turnout in these districts was huge and in some cases exceeded the turnout in some districts were sharp competition was taking place. This was not a surprise because this is the voters’ conviction. I would like to thank the voters who took part in the remaining districts and the campaigns’ staffs who worked incessantly to secure this massive turnout in districts with Shiite seats and in districts where Hezbollah candidates were running and in all other districts because we consider that the opposition as a whole was engaged in Hezbollah’s battle. On the other hand, I condemn the sectarian rhetoric that considers that a certain majority in a certain district should determine its fate. Why is this rhetoric considered sectarian here (opposition) and then considered patriotic there (March 14)? Every Lebanese, regardless of his religion, has the right to vote; it’s his national obligation.
I congratulate all my brothers in the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc because they have gained unprecedented public support.”
“I would like to express my deep hearted gratitude to all my brothers in Hezbollah and to Hezbollah supporters. There was no competition is south Lebanon and Baalbek-Hermel districts as well as Beirut’s southern suburb, but we have called on voters to have a strong presence to express their political choices and convictions, particularly with regards to the resistance issue, because those were the people who have paid the tax. We noticed that the turnout in these districts was huge and in some cases exceeded the turnout in some districts were sharp competition was taking place. This was not a surprise because this is the voters’ conviction. I would like to thank the voters who took part in the remaining districts and the campaigns’ staffs who worked incessantly to secure this massive turnout in districts with Shiite seats and in districts where Hezbollah candidates were running and in all other districts because we consider that the opposition as a whole was engaged in Hezbollah’s battle. On the other hand, I condemn the sectarian rhetoric that considers that a certain majority in a certain district should determine its fate. Why is this rhetoric considered sectarian here (opposition) and then considered patriotic there (March 14)? Every Lebanese, regardless of his religion, has the right to vote; it’s his national obligation.
I congratulate all my brothers in the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc because they have gained an unprecedented public support.”
“The people have told the world that resistance is their choice; that this is the choice of a resistance not an armed gang; a choice that was not forced on them by the threat of weapons or the temptation of money. When those people voted, they told the world that the choice of the resistance was a popular choice that expressed their will and their awareness. The second message was that the resistance is not a piece of arms to be discussed, but a popular will. There is no need to worry about the resistance as long as it’s a popular choice. This matter shall be discussed calmly and objectively.”
“I tell the Lebanese that the chance of building a just, capable and strong state is still standing, regardless of the outcome of the elections. We all agree that there are big challenges ahead of us on the economic, social, political and administrative levels. We must have reached already the conviction that saving this country and developing it while preserving its independence and sovereignty necessitates the cooperation of all sides. This chance is not lost. It is related to the party that has secured the majority in parliament; what is its real program? Is its project clear and transparent? What are its priorities? how will its conduct be with regards to public affairs? Will it make use of past experiences? Let us try to build a republic based on sincerity and not on lies, accusations and fears. I did not respond to what was said during the electoral campaign, this is behind us. Let us start building our country and pull it out of its crises. We are in front of a new phase and a new situation. We have to learn from the past, determine our weak points and strength points and develop our presence. However, what will never change is our commitment to our people and our country and to those who have offered their blood for the sake of liberating Lebanon and defending it. Peace be upon all of you.”
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