A senior Christian Lebanese politician accused rival Hezbollah and its allies Wednesday of working to postpone a parliamentary election set for March over fears of electoral losses, warning such a move would condemn Lebanon to a "slow death".
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Western donors that Lebanon relies on said the vote must go ahead. Politicians from all sides, including Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, have repeatedly said it should happen, in order not to deal a further blow to the country's standing.
But Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces and an ally of Saudi Arabia, pointed the finger at Hezbollah and its ally Lebanese President Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement for attempting to delay it.
"They are near certain that they will lose their parliamentary majority," Geagea told Reuters in an interview at his residence in the mountains overlooking the coastal town of Jounieh.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Ibrahim Moussawi responded to Geagea's comments by saying they were "lies" and "slander," in a statement published on the state-run National News Agency.
Hezbollah was firmly in favor of holding elections "on their scheduled constitutional dates," the statement said.
Aoun said earlier this month he would not sign an authorization for the vote, approved by parliament, to be held on March 27 as the date was too early.
When asked whether a postponement would lead to more fighting after clashes last month between the Lebanese Forces and Hezbollah, Geagea said: "Not fighting, but to more slow death."
"With the current way things are going, state institutions – and so the state – is disintegrating day by day," he said.
Lebanon has no reliable opinion polling but should the election take place, Geagea's party is widely expected to make gains, with the Free Patriotic Movement expected to lose seats, potentially robbing Hezbollah of its majority.
Without an election to shake up the parliament "you will see more of the same," Geagea said. The United Nations says the economic meltdown has left nearly 80% of the people in poverty.
Lebanon's government, formed from most major political parties in September following a 13-month-period of political paralysis, has not convened in nearly 50 days amid a push by Hezbollah and its allies to remove the judge investigating the deadly August 2020 Beirut port blast.
Adding to the economic peril, Lebanon is facing a wave of Gulf Arab anger after a prominent broadcaster-turned-minister leveled blunt criticism at Saudi Arabia, in a row that has further strained Beirut's ties with once generous benefactors.
Geagea, who maintained close contact with the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, said Hezbollah's increasing influence was the main problem behind the rift which is harmful to Lebanon's economy.
"We see Saudi and the Gulf as economic lungs for Lebanon," he said.
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