A woman ticks her ballot behind a privacy screen while voting in a polling station in Lebanon's capital Beirut on May 15, 2022. ANWAR AMRO AFP BEIRUT - Lebanon's Interior Ministry has announced the final results of the 2022 parliamentary elections, which showed the loss of majority in the parliament by Hezbollah and its allies.
Hezbollah and its allies secured 59 seats, down from 71 in the previous election in 2018, which are fewer than the 65 seats needed to secure a majority in the 128 seat parliament.
The Free Patriotic Movement, a major Hezbollah ally, won 18 seats in the country, compared to its rival, the Lebanese Forces, which won 20 seats.
Hezbollah lost key allies including the Druze leader Talal Arslan and Sunni leader Faysal Karame in Tripoli.
The results of the Ministry of Interior showed the unprecedented gains achieved by 15 reformist candidates, a breakthrough that shows the public anger at the financial collapse.
The absence of Saad Hariri, the most prominent Lebanese Sunni figure, former prime minister and leader of the Future Movement has characterized this year's elections as a result of the absence of Saad Hariri.
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Hariri announced on January 24 his withdrawal from Lebanon's political life, attributing his decision to the absence of any positive opportunity for Lebanon in light of Iranian influence, national division and sectarianism. The voter turnout in the 2022 parliamentary elections reached 42 percent, down from 49 percent in the 2018 elections.
The parliamentary elections this year were the first held since the financial and economic collapse in the year, and the protests against the ruling political class blamed for the deteriorating situation in the country.
A total of 718 candidates, including 118 female candidates, who were distributed among 103 lists, participated in the parliamentary elections in Lebanon this year.
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