The Lebanon-based Hezbollah party has achieved the desired results during Sunday’s election and urges all political forces to put aside disagreements and enter a dialogue on the formation of a new government, the party’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said Monday. On Sunday, Lebanon held its first general election since 2009. Within the nine-year period, the nations parliament extended its mandate three times under the pretext of political instability. According to media reports, citing preliminary results, the Hezbollah and Amal Shiite parties, in alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement, may secure over 60 seats in the 128-member parliament, which will be considered the majority. From the beginning, we aimed for a large presence in parliament, first of all, to ensure political protection of the [Hezbollah] resistance. In general, following the election results, we can say that in terms of means of our election campaign and the right choice of political alliances we achieved what we were counting on, Nasrallah said, aired by the Al Manar TV channel. According to Nasrallah, a new government will unite the army, Lebanese people, and the Hezbollah resistance. He stressed that the vote showed that it was impossible to exclude any party from the political process in the country. I call on everyone to calm down. We must settle our disagreements, even strategic ones. I urge leaders of [all] political forces to calm down and abandon provocative statements, as they may lead the country to a problem, Nasrallah said. The Shiite leader also mentioned attempts to discredit Hezbollah in areas traditionally loyal to the party. He reiterated his call for the immediately launch of talks on the formation of a new government, urging to focus on the country’s interests, despite internal political differences. Iran-backed Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States, Israel, and several Arab countries. The European Union designated Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist entity.
