The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement and their allies in parliament managed Tuesday to re-elect their candidate, Nabih Berri, for a seventh term as parliament speaker.
Iran-back Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliamentary majority in the May 15 elections. But they managed to secure 65 votes in the 128-member parliament to get Berri back in the top job thanks to lawmakers who label themselves independent.
In 2018, Berri received an absolute majority with 98 votes.
The 84-year-old Berri has held the position for 30 years. His critics see him as a symbol of the country's corrupt and power-obsessed leadership.
Berri vowed after his election to extend his hand to all lawmakers and called "for sincere cooperation in order to save Lebanon."
Today's parliament session also saw 13 representatives from the opposition who call them themselves the "Forces of Change" moving into the legislature.
The "Forces of Change" hope to break the monopoly on power held by the Lebanese political parties who have long ruled the country - and plunged the economy into is worst-ever crisis.
There was no alternative candidate to Berri, as Lebanon’s political system - meant to ensure recognition of religious communities - mandates that the Speaker of the House should be a Shiite Muslim.
Several lawmakers in Tuesday's session did not write their names on the ballot, but instead wrote opposition slogans, including "Justice for the victims of the Beirut port explosion."
The May parliamentray elections were the first since a huge blast ripped throught the Beirut port in August 2020, killing more than 190 people and wounding 6,000 others.
