Assaad Vows to Penetrate Hizbullah”s Hegemony in 2009 Elections
Ahmed al-Assaad, the son and political heir of traditional Shiite leader Kamel al-Assaad, pledged to compete Hizbullah and AMAL movement in the forthcoming parliamentary elections to achieve "surprising" victories.
Assaad, in an interview with the daily al-Mustaqbal, said such predicted gains would "shatter the hegemony by Hizbullah and AMAL over the Shiites."
"We would have candidates in all (Shiite) areas," Assaad said, indicating that he would sponsor candidates in several predominantly Shiite constituencies that have been represented by Hizbullah and AMAL MPs since 1992.
Assaad said his Lebanese Belonging Movement (LBM) would sponsor candidates in the south, The Bekaa and Beirut”s southern suburbs.
"It is not true that all of Lebanon”s Shiites support Hizbullah. They are kidnapped," he stressed.
Assaad pledged to form an alliance with "all the Shiites who declare their opposition to Hizbullah and AMAL with the aim of crystallizing our view that our interest, like that of all the other Lebanese (communities), is in supporting the state."