The parliament has never witnessed a confusion similar to the one that was shown on the face of the Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, as he counted the votes expected to be received by Hezbollah militia candidate Suleiman Frangieh. Berri appeared exhausted and uneasy with the course of the session, which seemed lengthy to him. As soon as the vote counting process was completed, the opposition team fled, leaving in complete silence.

Frangieh did not achieve any significant progress or foundation to build upon. What actually happened is that the consensus candidate shattered the opposition’s hopes of imposing a president on the Lebanese people. Fifty-nine votes were enough to establish a political opposition on May 7 against the dominance of Hezbollah, which has now begun to crumble.

The opposition built their illusory victory on 51 votes, which did not grant them the ability to stay for a second electoral round due to the fear of Jihad Azour winning. Even Frangieh’s own son was among the first to leave, as his father’s defeat was a severe blow to the opposition, undermining the influence of Berri and his team in the presidential race.

What has been achieved is not an easy feat; it is a resounding victory over the axis of opposition. There were 77 votes against its weapons and dominance. Hezbollah needs to carefully analyze the numbers, as the tide has turned, and it can no longer impose its will on the Lebanese people.