Hezbollah\’s Candidate Appointed Prime Minister; Majority of Lebanese-Armenian Parliamentarian\’s Keep Alliance with Saad al-Hariri

As Hezbollah and their allies managed to win a slim parliamentary majority for billionaire, Najib Mikati, who was formally asked on Tuesday by President Michel Suleiman to head a new government, the Armenian community of Lebanon and the majority of its representatives preferred the pro-western former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.

Lebanese Member of Parliament and Vice-Chairman of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) Central Committee Sebouh Kalpakian, stated that out of the six ethnic Armenians within the Parliament, only two, (those are members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation “Tashnak” party who are actually aligned with Hezbollah), voted in favor of Makati.

“We, the SDHP delegation along with the ADL parliamentary member presented our ally, former Prime Minister, and “March 14 Forces” bloc leader Saad Hariri’s as our sole candidate. But unfortunately only 60 MP nominated Hariri, while 68 for Hezbollah’s candidate Mikati. As Such the country’s constitution requires the President to commission Mikati to form a new government, as well as to ratify the new composition of blocs with the parliament.” Kalpakian conveyed to the press that the SDHP, and its Parliamentarians have no intention of abandoning its alliance with the “March 14 Forces” to join the ‘Hezbollah’ led “March 8” emerging government.