Hezbollah, allies win wide areas in east Lebanon vote
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BEIRUT - Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and its allies won a vast majority of seats in areas where they ran in local elections in eastern Lebanon, the group's deputy leader said Monday, a day after the vote took place.
Meanwhile, the head of a local coalition of different political groups said they will most likely win the Beirut municipality.
The municipal elections held Sunday in only two areas of the country -- the capital, Beirut, and the eastern Bekaa Valley region -- were the first vote in Lebanon since 2010 and a key test of grassroots support in the two regions.
Hezbollah's deputy chief sheikh Naim Kassem said Monday that the group and its allies ran in 80 municipalities out of 143 in the Bekaa Valley and won almost all the seats. That included all municipal seats in the historic city of Baalbek and the major town of Brital along the Syria border, where Hezbollah competed against a list backed by prominent families.
"It was a complete victory," Kassem said of the Baalbek and Brital vote. He added that Hezbollah's opponents secured some seats in six towns in the area.
