Former Lebanese PM Calls for Boycott of Parliamentary Elections

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday announced that he would not run in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 15, and called on members of his Future Movement party to boycott the election. “We will continue to serve our people, but our decision is to suspend any role in power, politics and parliament,” said Hariri in a live televised address. The three-time prime minister of Lebanon said he had succeeded in preventing a new civil war but was not able to provide the Lebanese with a better life, as he had promised. There will be little positive prospect for Lebanon in light of Iranian influence, sectarianism, and the collapse of the state, he added.