The President of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, affirmed that "there is a kind of Shiite boycott, which is why the Shiite duo tried with all their strength in the Lebanese state to extend the election period by two or three hours, but the officials did not agree to that. This was due to the Shiite duo noticing that the turnout among Shiites was low." He added, "For example, in Jbeil, the Shiite turnout is approximately 2,000 lower compared to what it was in 2018, knowing that all the votes for Hezbollah and Amal Movement amount to 9,000, which means there is a drop of about 20%."
He said, "In any case, I prefer to wait to see the final turnout and compare it with the 2018 elections," noting that he is not sure "that there is a significant decline in turnout. In areas where there are transformational movements and opposition parties, such as the areas where the Lebanese Forces party is present, turnout increased, while in areas where Hezbollah and Amal Movement are present, turnout decreased."
Geagea further explained, "For instance, in the Baalbek-Hermel area, the turnout in 2018 was approximately 60%, while in the current parliamentary elections, it reached around 53 or 54%, indicating that the turnout among Shiites for Hezbollah and Amal Movement has decreased." He continued, "On the other hand, due to known circumstances, turnout dropped in some Sunni areas, but in other regions, it did not drop; for example, in Beirut and Sidon, despite the significance of these two areas, Sunni turnout did not decrease, while in Akkar and Tripoli, it fell."
Geagea confirmed that "the upcoming parliament will be better than the current one, and we may be able to bring about the desired change, but naturally, it will not be that simple." He said, "For instance, we see what happened in Iraq despite the 'opposition's' victory there, but it is better than allowing the Iran-aligned team to continue controlling the parliament."
He stated, "The bet of President Mikati and the Minister of Interior on conducting the elections has succeeded, and the Lebanese people have succeeded; the elections were held despite all the obstacles that the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah tried to impose against these elections, and in the end, the elections were conducted as they should be." He pointed out that "it is noteworthy that elections were held smoothly and democratically in all Lebanese regions in a calm atmosphere, except for areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, specifically in Baalbek-Hermel and some other districts where the electoral process faced real physical and material violations."
He said, "We tried to address this as much as possible, and I contacted the Prime Minister, the Minister of Interior, and others at various levels, which led to the completion of the electoral process as it should have, despite these gaps." He reiterated, "Things will not return to function as they did in the last 17 years, and at every stage, we will continue the confrontation through all the peaceful and democratic means available to us," stressing that "these elections are of great importance in providing us with the necessary number of deputies to continue the struggle as it should within the parliament."
Regarding government formation, he said, "We are completely against what is termed national unity governments; we are for national unity but opposed to unity governments because they do not lead to any outcome."
