Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group said on Sunday it saw no reason to delay May's parliamentary elections, days after politics was turned on its head by Saad al-Hariri's withdrawal from public life.
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Hariri, Lebanon's leading Sunni Muslim politician and three times a former prime minister, declared on Monday he would boycott the vote, adding to the uncertainties facing a country grappling with a devastating financial and energy crisis.
"All indications are that the parliamentary elections will take place on time," said Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the heavily armed Hezbollah, according to a copy of his speech seen by Reuters.
Maronite Christian patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, a Hezbollah critic, said on Sunday Hariri's move must not be used as an excuse to call for a delay.
