Sayyed Nasrallah’s Full Speech Addressing Electoral Matters, Announcing the Names of Hezbollah Parl’t Candidates

Translated by Staff, Hezbollah Media Relations

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech addressing electoral matters and announcing the names of the party’s candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Master and Prophet, the Seal of Prophets, Abi al-Qassem Muhammad Bin Abdullah and his good and pure household and his good and chosen companions and all the prophets and messengers.

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you all.

Today, my speech is mainly devoted to the parliamentary elections since now we have practically entered the electoral media campaign and the atmosphere of the elections. In addition, there are important occasions in the coming days and weeks. I will be making more appearances during upcoming back-to-back occasions. Therefore, people are not going to hear from me everything they are expecting. I’ve divided up the issues and topics that I must talk about, God willing, in the coming weeks and months up until the elections.

So, the topic today is all about the elections.

1- The first point is the origin of holding elections. You know when the topic was raised until the past few weeks, there were loud voices always speaking, questioning the holding of elections on time, accusing political forces of working to postpone the elections or cancelling the elections, and extending the term of the current parliament. It was clear that these voices and the media are from a certain group as if they are being run by one room.

Praise be to God, in the past few days, this atmosphere is either over or reduced to a minimum. We no longer hear a lot of talk that they want to cancel the elections, they want to postpone the elections, they want to extend the term of Parliament. This issue is over, and everyone is going towards preparing for the nominations because the is not much time. Making alliances and list formations are over. I think this happened when they saw the political forces they are accusing of working to delay or distort the elections seriously preparing for the elections. These forces have worked internally at the very least, day and night, to be ready for this challenge. I think they no longer have logic – it is not logic in the first place. I do not think that there is anything that can lead to a disruption or postponement of the elections unless, God forbid, a war or a very big event takes place. But according to the logic of things, the country is heading towards the elections on the scheduled date in May, God willing.

2- The second point, for us, also comes in the context of serious preparation during the past weeks. The brothers and sisters in the various regions, with cooperation, sincerity, and integration, formed the electoral machines comprising a large group of brothers and sisters in all regions. Of course, there are constituencies in which we have candidates from Hezbollah, and there are constituencies in which we do not have candidates. But there are candidates who are our allies or our friends, and we have bases or supporters or those who have the right to vote in those constituencies.

We have formed electoral machines so that none of our votes will be lost. These machines will work in the districts where we have and don’t have candidates. We want to support our allies and friends in those districts with our votes. This means that even for those districts, we formed electoral machines. Tomorrow, God willing, the first phase of announcing the electoral machines will be launched in a number of regions. Then, other regions will follow.

3- The third point is related to communication and alliances. Of course, we’ve been communicating with our allies and friends for a while, and they are also communicating with us. This means that the initiative is coming from all parties. There is bilateral discussion, thinking out loud, laying out all options, evaluating obstacles, also available and existing opportunities.

There are ideas that are crystallizing, yet more time is needed because the announcement of alliances and lists will come at a later stage after the nominations are completed and done. Therefore, I’d like to say that whatever you read or hear in the media or on social media – there are many cases because I follow closely – are not true and at times inaccurate. Ultimately, when we reach clear and conclusive results, they will also be announced successively.

Regarding initial discussions, it is clear that in some districts, we will be in on the same list with our allies and friends. In other districts, we are studying with them an idea – we can be in one constituency but on two mutually agreed lists because as you know, the electoral law is a proportional [representation] law; there is the matter of the quotient, the number of the quotient, and the fraction. An additional deputy can win. In some districts, we may choose one list for all the constituency, and in some districts, our electoral interest as well as that of our allies and friends lie in choosing two lists. When we choose to go with two lists, this will not be on the basis of rivalry or disagreement, but rather on the basis of a joint assessment of electoral interests.

4- The last point in this topic:

Some media outlets are portraying Hezbollah as being the one responsible for managing the entire electoral process for itself, its allies, and its friends in Lebanon, and that it is centrally running the show, forming the lists, and making the alliances. This is not true and inaccurate. In the constituencies where we have candidates, we naturally communicate with our allies and friends to form the lists in the constituencies in which we have candidates because we will be mainly present. Meanwhile, in constituencies where we do not have candidates, our friends are the ones who make the lists, our allies are the ones who make the lists, not us, we don't play any central role in this matter.

Yes, in some constituencies or some of our friends may sometimes need help, as a friend, Hezbollah provides assistance and it may or may not be successful. I also wanted this point to be clear. In the districts where we do not have candidates, our allies and friends are the ones managing this process – they form the lists; they communicate with each other. If there is a problem or a possibility for us to provide assistance or contribution, we certainly do not hold back, and we may or may not succeed.

So, I conclude this point by saying that some of what is published or much of what is published in the media is early and mostly, with regard to alliances, lists, the method of voting, and the selection of votes and preference votes, are matters that have not been resolved and most are still under discussion. In any case, when we want to announce one single list or a specific alliance, it will not be an individual one, but rather in coordination and agreement with our partners on the list.

5- The next point, during the commemoration of the martyred leaders, I mentioned that our electoral slogan for this season will be “We remain to protect and build.” In 2018, it was “We protect and build,” now we will say “We remain to protect and build.”

The focus of the electoral media campaign, whether from me or from the rest of the brothers, representatives, candidates, officials, and scholars during the upcoming events, festivals, and meetings in villages, towns, and neighborhoods will be on the content of this slogan – how we will protect and build and what fields we are talking about. We will get to this at a later time, God willing.

As for the program, in 2018, we announced an electoral program. Of course, when we set a program, as in every previous time, we are here not presenting Hezbollah’s political document, and we are not talking about a strategic vision. Rather, we are putting a set of titles that we believe are reasonable, realistic goals that can be achieved over a period of four years, eight years, or more or less. So, we set the program and say this program is the centerpiece of the movement of our representatives, including Hezbollah, our friends, and our allies. If we agree on some points, the program will be like so. Of course, the 2018 program was announced at that time. The current program is inspired by the 2018 program because there are points and issues that have been accomplished, while some have not been accomplished and require diligent work – some cannot be completed within four years and need more time. Some of them are among the fixed goals. This means that as long as you are present in Parliament, you will continue to work on these points until they are achieved, accomplished, and fortified.

Therefore, the electoral program is inspired by the previous programs and takes into account the developments that occurred during the past four years. Hence, it requires from us a specific position, attention, procedure, or measure, and this will be added to the program.

The program was discussed during the past few months and was finally approved. It is now in the stage of – as they call it –the final touches in terms of linguistic and literary formulation. God willing, the electoral program of Hezbollah for the current election cycle will be announced soon.

6- The next point is also about the elections. We talked about this point in our internal meetings during the last elections or with the electoral machines, but I always wanted to have an opportunity to talk about this to all our supporters, to the people, to our friends, and even our opponents so they know our vision and approach to this issue is. Here, I want to talk about the issue of the MPs and the parliamentary bloc in Hezbollah.

People must know Hezbollah’s representatives because they are going to vote for them. They must know where they are, what is required of them, and under what mechanism they are working on. So, when evaluations take place later – all people have the right to evaluate – they will be correct, sound, and realistic. Hezbollah’s representatives are part of Hezbollah, meaning they are not something separate from Hezbollah; they are not an independent parliamentary framework. The independent representatives, for example, are part of the composition of Hezbollah, of Hezbollah’s structure, of Hezbollah’s political administration, and part of Hezbollah's path that is moving towards specific, clear, and declared goals. Hence, they are a part [of Hezbollah].

They have a framework within Hezbollah like every action in Hezbollah – the executive framework, the jihadi framework, the political framework, etc. Their name is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc.

Of course, when we say that they are representatives of Hezbollah, it means their roof is Hezbollah, their project is Hezbollah, their disciplines are that of Hezbollah, their movement is Hezbollah. They cannot be anything else or outside this ceiling, project, framework, or movement. Based on this, for example, when it comes to the political positions and the political vision, our representatives are committed to the decisions and the political ceiling of Hezbollah. Therefore, each of them expresses this position as any of us, in his own way and literature within this ceiling and resolution. They are not inventing their own political position, i.e., they are different from the independent representative.

Therefore, the independent representative, for example, is the one who determines his ceiling. He may not even have a ceiling. He is an independent representative. Hence, no matter what he says, the consequences fall on him alone. As for Hezbollah representatives, their political ceiling is Hezbollah’s. Therefore, when the representative takes a position and exceeds the ceiling, the consequences of the situation fall on the party, the resistance, and the march but will not have an effect on the personal level. So, they are committed.

Sometimes, when some people evaluate that a representative might have a high ceiling, an independent representative might have a high ceiling. It is natural that the ceiling is high, and he is free. But Hezbollah representatives are bound by the political ceiling of Hezbollah, which follows a vision, strategy, goals, a study, collective decisions, etc. This also applies to their political relations.

Even political issues, for example, nominating so-and-so to head the government, giving vote of confidence to the government – this is a political decision. The representatives don’t make this decision alone. Of course, the deputies discuss, present their opinion, and definitely consult. But the decision is up to the leadership, the leadership of Hezbollah. The representatives abide by it and express it. Therefore, when some ask the representative the reason he gave the government his vote of confidence, he should in fact ask me; he should ask Hezbollah’s shura before asking the representative because this is the decision of the leadership of Hezbollah. The representatives are partners in consultation and opinion, but they are not the ones who bear responsibility for such a decision.

When it comes to laws and legislations, parliamentarians and the parliamentary bloc have a wider margin in studying laws since this is basically their main job – whether it is to propose laws that they want to submit and have been submitted by other MPs or draft laws issued by the Lebanese government.

We have established public policies related to taxes, management, some projects, and tenders. There are specific public policies. Based on these general policies, the deputies study and make the decision they want.

In some special cases, they are required to consult the Shura of Hezbollah. I do not know if there is a parliamentary bloc in Lebanon, such as the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, that has such a wide margin in studying, approving, and voting on laws without permanently turning to its political leadership. I will come back to this point later when I talk about the achievements.

In practice, the representatives are part of the Hezbollah movement on the ground. There is no such thing as an independent representative. For example, we have areas, sectors, people, institutions, files, frameworks, social and popular committees, and bodies. The representatives are part of this vast and large machine that moves in the regions and integrates with the movement of the regions. Therefore, when we evaluate, we cannot separate the movement of the deputy from the movement of the rest of the party, negatively or positively.

Our bloc also is a bloc that works collectively. The truth is that the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc has been working collectively since 1992; they sit together, study together, discuss with each other before they go to the committees. When they go to the joint committees or to the General Assembly to vote, they work as a collective action.

I would like to talk about this point. For example, in the field of legislation that include approving laws and studying them, the main task of the representative – but of course, the task of the representative in Lebanon has deviated as a result of the political and social life in the country – is to go to the parliament and discuss proposals for laws or bills and study and scrutinize them with experts and discuss among each other because in the light of these laws they will decide the fate of the people’s lives – their financial, living, economic, health, educational, security, and political lives. Therefore, there is a very great responsibility placed on the shoulders of the representatives in the field of drafting laws and legislation, which is a very basic task.

This has been the working pattern of our brothers in the block since 1992. This is for people to know. They hold constant meetings, once or twice a week. When they go to the appointed committee, the Public Health Committee, the Justice Committee, the Finance Committee, there is no such thing as a Hezbollah representative who wants to say his personal opinion. He expresses the opinion of the bloc, the opinion of the bloc that is consistent with Hezbollah’s policies, ceiling, and  goals.

Yes, our brother, the representative, is a partner in the discussion, a partner in the decision. But there is no such thing as this is the opinion of a certain representative. To be fair, our brothers are very serious and very active in this field. They’ve been known to have done so since 1992. You can go back and ask the heads of the parliamentary committees. You can take a look at the joint committees and the general body and see the direct, clear attendance, serious discussion, organized discussion. This is basically their primary role.

Among the dangers facing the Parliament is that there will come a time when there are no interested, worthy, and decent people who even have the courage to discuss laws, proposals, and projects, scrutinize them, and discuss them thoroughly and deeply. This will be a very big gap in any Parliament that is formed as a result of the elections.

Therefore, I would like to tell you that we, the leadership of Hezbollah and Hezbollah’s Shura Council, consider that the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc is one of the most serious parliamentary blocs. The presence of our brothers in parliament in these debates, whether in preparation with the competent authorities in the study centers, specialized brothers and sisters, or in the framework of the Parliamentary Committee, concerned parties, the joint committees, or the general body is a very well-known matter. This is their first religious responsibility as deputies, and they bear the burden of oversight, under the title of oversight. They have a strong and great presence in committees and while monitoring ministers of different specializations.

With regard to following up with ministries and state administrations related to their regions and people’s issues, they also have a great presence. They have a direct presence among people on all occasions – joyous and sad ones, political and religious ones. Over the course of thirty years, this presence has been effective, great, visible, and powerful.

In 2018, we prepared reports about our achievements and showed them in the media. During the past four years, many good results and accomplishments have been achieved, whether in the legal and legislative field, or the files transferred and entrusted to the deputies as representatives, or with regard to follow-up and the world of services linked to your districts. God willing, the bloc will prepare reports for the regions, because, as we said, this is an achievement.

There is a special achievement for the bloc, and there are common matters in the regions. Reports about the achievements during the past four years will be prepared and announced.

Of course, we could not accomplish everything we talked about during the past four years, which is natural. We are not claiming anything. Of course, there were difficulties and obstacles, but there was certainly a high level of seriousness and continuous activity without weariness or boredom. There are great achievements and positives that have been accomplished. The bloc, God willing, will announce the reports regarding its achievements, including files, over the past four years. For example, among the main headlines that we talked about in 2018 was the anti-corruption file. The question was always present – "What did you do? Where are you now [regarding this file]?"

There is also a detailed and documented report that will be presented to the public and people from the beginning of the file until today – what has been accomplished, what is being prepared, what is being presented, what the results are, how we are supposed to complete, what the difficulties are, and what the opportunities are. We will come to all this in time. But here I am forming a general index. Also, with regards to the field of services and development for the regions, I would like to stress a point. When we evaluate the services for the regions, we say what has been accomplished in this region?

In fact, we cannot just say what the representatives of this region did? Because as I said a little while ago that they are part of Hezbollah’s system, administration, mechanisms, and machine. Rather, it is correct to say what Hezbollah did in this region and for the people of this region. The representatives are part of it. We should evaluate based on this because there are a lot of things that we accomplish in areas and services we provide that are not made in the name of the representatives. Let us be honest, the representatives are like the rest of Hezbollah officials. They are mujahideen and servants in this path, not chieftains. We do not announce every achievement or service that we do as the work of a certain representative. No, this is the work of Hezbollah. What Hezbollah institutions do is what the representatives of Hezbollah do. It is implemented in the name of Hezbollah.

The representatives are part of this administration, part of the follow-up, and part of this internal system. The evaluation must be based on this. Therefore, despite all the difficult circumstances that the country has been through, especially in recent years, what was done by Hezbollah’s formations, institutions, committees, files, brothers and sisters, and successive officials in various places and posts, including MPs, was great and significant. This is presented and is believed to be clearly tangible in the regions. Otherwise, the representative alone does not have a special budget and does not have any special capabilities, nor do our brothers belong to rich and wealthy families and have capabilities for us to point out the things they offer on a personal level.

When he provides, serves, or performs any such action, it is because of the capabilities provided to him by Hezbollah, like the rest of the formations and leaders of Hezbollah. In 1992, when we decided to take part in the government, we set realistic goals. You remember, and we did not raise people's expectations. That is if we know we could not do something, we do not promise it to people. You can review this experience from 1992. Rather, there are things that we did not promise the people about and told them not to expect them from us. We also told them that if you expected us to do these, do not elect us. However, we achieved them later. This means the opposite.

Let me give you an example. During the nineties and I think in 1996, following the elections and during some electoral festivals, you know at that time the resistance was engaged in daily operations – there were martyrs, wounded, bombing, etc. The main title was – and still is – supporting the resistance and protecting it.

On that day, I was attending an electoral festival and the candidates were sitting next to me. I delivered a speech. In part of the speech, I addressed the people telling them that if you are voting for us so that we can install electric [power] transmission, then don’t elect us. At that time, you know the state was not open to us. If you are voting for us so that we can put asphalt on the roads, do not elect us. If you choose us, that is, the resistance, the choice of the resistance, the resistance fighters, the martyrs of the resistance, and the wounded of the resistance, so that in Parliament there will be representatives who carry the voice of the martyrs, the families of the martyrs, the mujahideen, the resistance fighters, and the country under threat, then vote for us.

When I came down from the pulpit, the brothers told me, “May God bless you and give you wellness.” I told them why? They appeared to be joking. They asked, "Do you want us to succeed in the elections or fail?" I told them we have to be honest with the people. We cannot promise people things that we know we cannot fulfill, but rather we may not be able to achieve. Let's promise them something we are sure we can achieve.

That is why I remember, for example, even in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 elections, I used to say: we are not taking part in the government to change the system. There is no possibility of changing the system from within the parliament because, in the end, even amending the constitution requires two thirds, complex and difficult mechanisms, etc.

If we go to the parliament – I am talking about Hezbollah – for example, how many MPs will we get based on the sectarian division and the distribution of districts, etc. Regardless of our number, even with some alliances, our firm alliance, for example, with our brothers in the Amal Movement since 1992 and the subsequent alliances. It is not viable. This is a very sensitive topic. It cannot only be done from withing Parliament. If we were to heed the calls of some to change the political system, develop the political system, reform the political system, address some of the gaps and deficiencies in the political system, all hell will break in the country. This is one of the sanctities. There are dangers. This is a complicated and not an easy topic. This is not the job of the Parliament, and us being in Parliament will not achieve this goal. That is why we do not promise this. Hence, we always put forward a set of realistic, objective, and relatively feasible goals because there are things we talked about and made an effort and could not achieve – sometimes we came to the conclusion that the Parliament makes a decision that is then challenged by the Constitutional Council and canceled. I will give examples.

In any case, when evaluating the work of any group, we must see what functions are assigned to this group, what goals they have been told that’s expect from them, and therefore we see their effort and evaluate.

But if we want to evaluate based on each person’s expectations, what his hopes are, and what he expects – sometimes his expectations may be unrealistic or ideal and asks from this group in the jihadist field, in the political field, and in the parliamentary field – then this evaluation is not objective, unscientific, and unfair.

I would like to conclude this point by saying that in general and within the goals set and required and within the expectations that we have always had during the past years for the work of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc and the successive representatives that we have a positive and high evaluation of the work of the bloc and its members I n terms of their presence and efforts. We always thank them for that, and this is what we look forward to and expect from them in the future.

7- The next point is also related to the elections. In the internal meetings, we used to talk about this topic, and I would like to talk about it to people because I believe in the persuasive management approach to the greatest extent. It is also the right of the people to ask and inquire. It is their right that we explain and clarify to them because sometimes they are with us based on trust and in other times, they are with us based on trust and conviction in the ideas we present, the positions we take, or the measures we resort to.

I like that people are always convinced of our choices, our way, our attitudes, and not just being with us out of trust, love, passion, or enthusiasm. That is why you notice in general that in the addresses I explain and clarify, and sometimes some people tell me that you articulate too much, this is not your job, I tell them no, the clearer more visible things are, the more people are support with us with conviction because this has something to do with their present and future, as well as their dignity, security, livelihood, and life.

Among the points that I would like to talk about is Hezbollah's method of nominating representatives. Every four years, we nominate candidates of Hezbollah. Sometimes, we make some adjustments. Well, how does this work and how do we reach this result?

Every party, every movement, and every group has its own way. I will not talk about the ways of others, I will talk about our way, our discipline, and our mechanisms. How is this issue accomplished? Eventually, we will announce the names of the candidates for the new electoral cycle.

The following is Hezbollah’s way: First of all, Hezbollah’s shura council is the one that makes the final decision as is the custom, either unanimously or by the majority. Even if it has been a custom for many years, we, Hezbollah and Hezbollah’s leadership, keep discussing until we reach a specific result, but in the end, the decision is made by Hezbollah’s shura council.

In an earlier period, consultations between the concerned authorities in the areas take place in coordination with the brothers, who know the representatives well. We know the brothers. Since our generations are close to each other, we know each other well. We check  people’s background; we always start from the beginning. The brother who’s taken part in one, two, and three cycles is known to us more, and we do not need to scrutinize his background the way we do when submitting a new candidate, for example.

Internal consultation takes place, and we benefit from opinion polls conducted by others and us. There is always a problem. Of course, the issue of opinion polls in Lebanon needs some scrutiny in terms of accepting the results according to detailed follow-up and through a review of the files. We complicate sessions and conduct long evaluations, and in the end, we resolve with the rationale of decision-making and selection of individuals.

Someone, for example, might suggest that any of the brothers has the right to be nominated for two parliamentary terms and that’s it. Accordingly, another person will be nominated in his place. Another person may suggest a different idea – veterans should go back to the organization and do another job, while there should always be new blood. They go overboard and overindulge.

At this point, I would like to say what our vision is, which is a realistic vision. This does not concern Hezbollah only. It is, however, a humanitarian issue. All people, through their thought, understanding, and experience, can form a vision regarding this issue.

Look, parliamentary and political work are like jihad work and administrative and institutional work. It does not only depend on the person, his personal competence, and educational background. An important part of it is the experience a person acquires.

Through the experience, he works, tests, discusses, according to the nature of the task he performs. He might make mistakes, then he becomes aware of them and corrects them. He can also see the mistakes of others. There is an accumulation of experience. Hence, rationalization and experience occur. Therefore, when he comes across similar issues, he relies on his own experience as well that of others, his personal competence, and his knowledge. Hence, when a person gets older, he often becomes more aware and more mature. His experience grows and becomes broader.

Therefore, it is not correct to adopt a theory that is based on excluding the old and bringing new blood. There may be a problem with fresh individuals. They may be competent, good, and decent but lack experience – they have never engaged in this kind of arguments and conflicts. Sometimes, there might be difficult situations where decisions must be made. These decisions may not only be related to knowledge but also nerves, courage, honor, and bearing the consequences in front of people.

Therefore, the right way is the following: as long as the veteran is still productive, useful, present, and influential, has built up his experience and developed it, knows people more, is familiar with topics, laws, and the game of power, and knows the ins and outs [of politics], it is better for him to continue. But we must take into account the possibility of introducing new blood. This is the correct idea. In this case, we will always have the experience and foundation from the veterans, and from the new, we have the new generations and new elements.

This is the idea we adopt, and this is what we have adopted since 1992. In 1992, for example, we had a group of brothers who succeeded in the parliamentary elections. But when we came to the 1996 elections, we made amendments, and even when we made the amendments, we proceeded from criteria, from foundations. I will give examples. The door was always open for new blood. If you take a look at the Loyalty Bloc representatives in 1992, 1996, and 2000, you’ll see that there are always new people, new blood, and a new generation.

But as I said, even when we make amendments, there were logical and objective reasons as well. I will also give examples for clarification. For example, after the 1992 elections, we had religious scholars participating in parliament. With time, it became clear that it is not enough for a representative in Lebanon to just go to the parliament. This is wrong, but this exists – a parliamentarian going to the parliament and participating in legislation, enactment of laws, giving vote of confidence or no, and questioning the government. No, he has to go from one department to another and speak with ministers, general managers, governors, offices.

We, thus, saw that it is not fit for our religious scholars to do so. Hence, we made the decision that there will be no religious scholars in the bloc except for the head of the bloc. At the time, this allowed the addition of new individuals to the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc.

Last time, for example, we made a decision to separate the ministry from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Of course, the brothers who were told not to run were qualified to be representatives, and they were qualified and successful deputies. When we separated the ministry from the prosecution office, by extension, there were brothers who were representatives and their mandate ended. They became our ministerial project, so they went to the ministry, and later came the issue of the technocratic government that needs a lot of discussion.

Basically, they were the same brothers sometimes as a result of personal circumstances, security conditions, he does not have a personal desire to continue; he prefers to work within the organization – he asks to be sent back to the organization. His post is vacant, so we bring in new blood in his place.

There was always an opportunity for new blood to enter the bloc. Sometimes, the same organizational experience – we tell a brother to run, and he becomes a deputy for four or eight years. But we really need him in the organization, and there is someone to replace him in his post but no one to take his place in the organization. We used to resort to procedures of this kind.

So, the door has always been open. The objective and natural thing to do is make amendments and allow new individuals and new blood into the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc. As for the idea that we replace all the veterans with new individuals is basically irrational and illogical, and no one in the whole world works in this way.

On the contrary, there must always be among a group of representatives or a bloc, veterans or people who have experience. Yes, new blood must enter for the sake of continuity because life is in the hands of God Almighty. We are on a path in which our leaders are exposed to martyrdom, assassination, and murder. Now, natural death and diseases afflict everyone. This is one point.

Another point also regarding nominations and criteria. We do not nominate on the basis of personal relationships and friendships. It is not because they are my friends, so-and-so’s friends in the shura, or our relatives, I nominate them. We do not have such a thing. Never! On the contrary, I like to tell you that when there are people related to us, for example, my relatives or the relatives of any of the members of the shura and there is a replacement for them, certainly the matters does not benefit them for being our relatives. Rather, it becomes in the favor of the others.

This person may be wronged because he is our brother, our cousin, our brother-in-law, or our relative, and he is competent. This always happens, and now the same thing happened when we were discussing some nominations. Some brothers were excluded only because they are relatives of members of Hezbollah’s decision-making council. So, we excluded them to avoid putting ourselves under suspicion and to be told that they bring their children, in-laws, brothers, relatives, and the like. As long as there are diverse competencies, let us opt for those competent individuals.

But when the topic becomes specific, it needs a special discussion. We do not nominate on the basis of people's request. This does not mean that whoever requests that he wants to be an MP, we nominate him. On the contrary, whoever asks to become an MP, gets a mark in his file – this is a weak point.

There are a few of our brothers who have been nominated since 1992 until today, and currently they do not have any knowledge, they are not thinking of becoming representatives. When we made the decision after studying the files and options, and we informed them, but they did not accept.

There are people who accepted because we chose them, and there are people who we forced – some of them are still representatives, and some are not. After four years, they told us that four years is enough. You gave us a taklif and obligated us, now take us back to where we were. We do not nominate on the basis of people's request. We look for people because we are looking for officials to take responsibility.

Also, we do not nominate on the basis of family representation – that we want to create a family balance once from this family, the next time from that family, and the next time from that clan. Families and clans have the right to say we would love to have a representative.

For instance, there is a successful representative and belongs to a specific family. We do not replace him just because we want to bring a representative from another family to please them. Since 1992, we have not worked in this way, and we do not work in this way.

Of course, we respect everyone who is requesting and demanding from us in internal meetings to appoint a representative from his family or clan. This is their natural right, but this is our way and our criteria for electing. The representatives represent Hezbollah. They do not represent their families, their clans, or their people.

We also do not choose on the basis of a specific narrow geographical situation. Yes, we are keen that he be from within the district and from within the electoral district, but we do not say that we want to represent this town or city, and we do not want to represent that city.

No, we choose people who we consider to be capable of doing this task and are able to represent Hezbollah, Hezbollah’s supporters, and the people who trust Hezbollah well. Which town does he belong to? Which family does he belong to? Which city does he belong to? What area does he belong to? East, West, North, and South. These are details. Of course, there is an origin of what we can be keen on, and we are still keen on representative to come from the same electoral district. Thus, these are the foundations that we usually resort to as criteria and proceed from them by electing individuals.

Even when we elect people, some wonder if these are the best there are. No, this expression is inaccurate because there can be many like them in the party, but they occupy political positions, jihadist positions, and organizational positions, as well as run institutions. They certainly can be deputies. We are not a parliamentary party. We are a party that includes deputies, and our staff have great responsibilities. The way our body functions is known.

We are looking for the right brothers who are available, who may have replacements in the rest of Hezbollah, but have various responsibilities. Of course, even in some amendments, the brothers asked me; a brother says that after four or five years, my personal and security circumstances, my personal assessment is that I cannot bear the responsibility to perform what you ask of me as a representative. He is worthy and suitable to be [a representative], but his circumstances do not help. It happened with key figures from our representatives in the past.

I wanted to mention this so that it would be well understood that when we choose our representatives, we study well, discuss well, evaluate well, take all aspects into consideration, take into account the available alternatives, and take all the needs of the march and the party into account. Then, we reach the point at which we take the candidacy decision.

Hence, like all the past elections, the ones we are nominating today are not the candidates of their families, clans, towns, cities, or personal friends. They are the candidates of our march, our party, and our resistance. We are counting on them to shoulder their responsibility and are presenting them to the people. We have confidence in them, and we ask and hope that the people will also have confidence in them.

Based on our assessment, we have a couple of amendments regarding the nominations. This is based on a study and evaluation and away from any personal compliments that can usually occur with other parties and forces.

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Merciful. Since we will start with the head of the Loyalty Bloc, we will begin from the third south.

The South District III:

- Nabatiyeh district: Hajj Muhammad Raad

- Bint Jbeil district: Dr. Sayed Hassan Fadlallah

- Marjayoun Hasbaya district: Dr. Hajj Ali Fayyad

The South District II:

- Tyre district: We have only two candidates for the district of Tyre, Sheikh Hassan Ezzedine and Hajj Hussein Jashi. Mean, in the South, we have no change. The changes we made last time in the south were enough.

The Beirut District II: Hajj Amin Sherri

The Bekaa District I: this means the Zahle district. Here, there is an amendment. We express a big and heartfelt thanks to MP Mr. Anwar Jumaa, first for accepting to shoulder the responsibility four years ago and for assuming responsibility during these four years. First of all, thanks for everything he has done, and may God accept his deeds as he returns to his position in the formations of Hezbollah. The candidate and brother, Mr. Rami Abu Hamdan, of course, belongs to the new generation of young people. This means that we have new names of young people.

The Bekaa District III:

- The Baalbek-Hermel district: Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan, Dr. Ali Miqdad, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Mousawi, and Dr. Ihab Hammadi.

We did not make any amendments.

The Mount Lebanon District III:

- The Baabda district: Hajj Ali Ammar.

The Mount Lebanon District I:

- Jbeil Keserwan: Professor Raed Berro. He is also from the new and young generation.

Hence, we will have two young brothers, God willing, meaning new blood, pumping new blood into the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc.

These are our candidacies for the upcoming parliamentary elections, God willing, in the month of May. We studied our affairs very carefully and took all aspects into consideration. We listened to all the observations, evaluated them, and studied them. After asking God Almighty for success, support, and assistance – this is how we usually work when making decisions; our mind reaches places – we believe we have reached this conclusion.

These honorable brothers, in all the positions they occupied within the organization or in the parliamentary positions, assumed great responsibilities; they made important achievements. In the end, no one is infallible. They have made great achievements that can be used for the next stage. In the previous stage, they were strongly present in the face of difficulties.

This is what we wanted to announce and present to our people, our supporters, our base, and our brothers and sisters tonight. We have high hopes on these brothers. Of course, we are perhaps one of the parliamentary blocs that introduced new blood and made amendments after each session based on objective data. This means, we have so far 16 or 17 former deputies during this time period, while other blocs might not have such matter. This is evidence of keenness that we always introduce new blood and present a new atmosphere.

We wish the brothers success, and we hope the people, cooperate, especially in the various electoral districts. God willing, we will be hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder in this very important electoral process. We will talk about the process’s prospects, challenges, hopes, expectations, and what awaits our country, our resistance, our people, and our region at later times, God willing.

I ask for your prayers. May God grant you wellness. Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.