The United States said on Monday it welcomed Lebanon’s elections, which were held on time “without major security incidents”, but called on Beirut to implement necessary reforms.

“As we await official reports from election observers, we encourage the country’s political leaders to recommit to passing and implementing the laws and reforms needed to save the economy,” the State Department said. on Twitter.

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Legislative elections were held across Lebanon on Sunday, a week after the Lebanese diaspora voted abroad.

Although final results have not been released, preliminary results show that Iran-backed Hezbollah and its Christian allies, the Free Patriotic Movement, lost their absolute majority in parliament.

The pro-Iran bloc will always be one of the major powers within Lebanon’s legislative chamber, but the Lebanese Forces now appear to be the largest Christian bloc.

Meanwhile, several new faces, including members of civil society, have burst into the ranks for the first time.

The first big task before the new parliament will be to elect a president before the presidential election in October.

The World Bank has declared Lebanon’s financial crisis to be one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years.

And the authorities still have to implement the necessary reforms to unlock economic aid from the international community, the World Bank and the IMF.

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