Lebanon parliament elects Hezbollah ally Ferzli deputy speaker

BEIRUT – Hezbollah ally Elie Ferzli won at least half the votes in Lebanon's parliament on Wednesday, securing his election as deputy speaker.

The post is reserved for a Greek Orthodox under the country's sectarian power-sharing system. It has been held by an opponent of the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement since 2005, the year Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon.

Ferzli is one of a number of pro-Damascus politicians whom the May 6 election returned to public office for the first time since then.