Majority Support of Lebanese Parliament Representatives for Hariri's Premiership

Following the majority support of Lebanese Parliament representatives for Saad Hariri's premiership, which occurred on Thursday, June 3rd, it seems that Mr. Hariri will assume this position for the third time. The news of the majority support for Mr. Hariri comes a day after Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, was re-elected without any competition for another four years on Wednesday, June 2nd. The political system in Lebanon is founded on the division of powers among various groups. The President is elected from among Christians, the Prime Minister from among Sunni Muslims, and the Speaker of Parliament from among Shia Muslims. Parliamentary seats and government positions are also evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. It had previously been speculated that Saad Hariri, who is a Sunni Muslim and whose party received more votes than other parties, would once again be responsible for forming a government. According to Reuters, it is now expected that Saad Hariri will begin negotiations to form his coalition government. The Lebanese parliamentary elections, which took place after nine years, ended a political deadlock in the country that had arisen over a new electoral law and the extension of the parliamentary term. Hezbollah and its allies achieved significant success in this election, securing at least 70 of the 128 parliamentary seats. Due to this success, according to a senior official quoted by Reuters, Hezbollah is seeking to secure at least three cabinet positions in the next Lebanese government. Hezbollah, which is supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.