Sayyed Nasrallah: Parliamentary Elections Should Be Held On Time

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In his speech on Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed the necessity of holding the parliamentary elections in Lebanon on time.

He assured that there are no indications regarding the desire of any local parties to postpone the elections beyond their proposed date of March 27, 2022.

The elections have been a point of debate for a while, with the proposal of amending the voting age being blocked in the Parliament. Nasrallah regretted this outcome, notably as Hezbollah worked seriously for a constitutional amendment that would reduce the voting age to 18 years old. 

Nasrallah also stressed the absence of equal opportunity in foreign countries, as Hezbollah will be unable to promote its electoral campaign amongst expatriates nor will Hezbollah supporters have the freedom to vote.

On the other hand, he said, "As long as injustice is a reality, especially for Hezbollah, and there is a national interest, we will support the principle of expatriate voting."

Is there a US veto against solving the electricity crisis? 

Nasrallah addressed the electricity crisis in Lebanon, revealing that multiple offers have been made from Eastern and Western states to solve the local problem.

Furthermore, he stressed the need to respond to the proposal made by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, which hinged on building two electric power plants in Lebanon, thus largely alleviating the country from the current power outages.

The Secretary-General also demanded the Lebanese Government to prioritize dealing with the electricity crisis by placing it at the top of its agenda in its next session, wondering along the way about the existence of a US veto obstructing the solving of this issue on the internal level.

This attempt by the US would ease the privatization of the energy sector once it collapses.

To counter this sabotaging, he called on the Lebanese government to request an exception from the US, saying: "Let's allow the Lebanese companies to buy diesel from Iran, as we will subsequently offer them facilitations before completely withdrawing from this issue.”

Hezbollah was among those injured in the Beirut port explosion

Nasrallah touched on the subject of the Beirut Port investigation, stating that the current judge handling the case, Tariq Bitar, is exploiting the victims’ blood in service of political goals as he continues the path set by his predecessor.

Countering doubt about Hezbollah’s commitment to the search for the truth, he asserted the party’s unwillingness to abandon the investigation, notably as it was scathed on the moral, political and reputational level by the Beirut Port explosion.   

The Secretary-General pondered how the judge has not yet concluded who the importer of the nitrate was, viewing his approach to the investigation as erroneous and one that will not lead to the truth. He called on assigning an “honest judge” to lead the investigation.

Nasrallah also made an appeal to the Supreme Judicial Council, decrying the unlawful practices of Bitar and suggesting that the government solve this issue in case the Council remains idle.

ISIS aims to ignite a civil war in Afghanistan

Sayyed Nasrallah denounced the bombing that took place inside a mosque in Kunduz province a few days ago in Afghanistan.

He stressed that the perpetrator is "ISIS, the Wahhabi terrorist organization", allocating the responsibility of the attack to the US given that it previously transferred ISIS members from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Nasrallah said that "ISIS' job today is to create a state of internal turmoil that would lead to a civil war in Afghanistan," emphasizing the responsibility of Afghan authorities to protect its citizens regardless of their color or sect.

Demanding justice for martyr Nizar Banat

Sayyed Nasrallah spoke about the martyrdom of the Palestinian political and human rights activist Nizar Banat, who was killed on June 24, describing him as a “brave and oppressed thinker."

Revealing that he used to listen to his recordings, Nasrallah voiced his admiration of the martyr due to his pure and intellectual point of view regarding Palestine and regional conflicts.

Sayyed Nasrallah called on the Palestinian Authority to administer justice, underlining the need to honor the sacrifice of Nizar Banat in order for it not to go in vain.