Berri Says Lebanon's fate, exit from crisis hinging on elections' outcome

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday told his popular base and that of Hizbullah that “Lebanon’s future, fate, identity, principles and means to exit the crisis are linked to the outcome” of the May 15 parliamentary elections.

Claiming that electoral rivals have so far spent 30 million dollars in the second electoral district in the South, Berri called on supporters in a speech in Msayleh to turn out heavily in the elections.

Commenting on the August 4, 2020 explosion at the Port of Beirut, Berri said protesters carried mock nooses with cardboard cutouts of him and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah days after the blast because the parliamentary blocs of the two parties “have managed to restore the rights that the sons of the South and Western Bekaa had been deprived of throughout six decades.”

“Through your victory and defeat of the Zionist scheme you showed a dose of dignity that they cannot bear,” Berri added, addressing supporters.