Bint Jbeil: 'Hezbollah were there for us'

Middle East Eye’s Heba Nasser is in south Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, a town synonymous with resistance against Israel.

Across the town centre people are seen walking towards the two polling stations under rows of tiny Amal and Hezbollah flags.

Standing at a polling station, Aida, 65, told MEE that voting for Hezbollah is the least she can do “after everything they’ve done for us”.

"I'm voting for the people who have always defended and protected us," she said.

The street outside the polling station is crowded with people waiting to go in, while cars manoeuvre the narrow street it is on with difficulty. 

“I voted for Hezbollah because when the state failed us during this crisis, and we ran out of diesel, fuel and foodstuffs, they were there for us. They worked to supply people with the things they needed,” Aya Suleiman, 28, told MEE.

Suleiman said she believes Hezbollah MPs have tried to fight corruption but faced resistance from other parties. 

“People say that we are being forced to come out to vote, but that’s not true. I’m here of my own volition to the people who represent me in the parliament,” she said.