The President of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, began his speech at the victory celebration in Jezzine by saluting the people of the South, who today expressed their Lebanese identity and their attachment to their land. He praised their participation in the elections and their demonstration of freedom and fearlessness in the face of all forms of intimidation.

Bassil also commended the Free Patriotic Movement, stating: “Once again, as it has proven across all of Lebanon, it has proven in the South—from Sidon to Zahrani, to Tyre, Bint Jbeil, Hasbaya, Nabatieh, and Jezzine the fortress—that it triumphed in municipalities, mayorships, municipal councils, and mukhtariyats, affirming that it is part of this southern fabric and is committed to developing every inch of it.”

He paid tribute to the free people of the South, saying: “The wind of sovereignty does not need to blow into Jezzine—no one can teach the people of Jezzine sovereignty, for they embody it.” He continued, “As for the story of the ‘fancy,’ Jezzine’s true fancy is the Movement. The wind of the Movement has swept through it, because ‘there is no love except for the first love,’ and Jezzine’s first love is the General, Michel Aoun.”

Bassil emphasized: “This is the norm in Jezzine. The deviation—and the great mistake—was what happened in 2022, and that mistake will not be repeated.” He criticized the “cacophonous voices” that tried to sever Jezzine from its environment, adding that, “a discordant voice coming from within the Movement loses all value—as we witnessed today.”

He added: “The strength you demonstrated today proves that the people of Jezzine remain steadfast in their principles and foundations. Jezzine cannot be isolated from its surroundings. Those who attempted to detach it from Jabal al-Rayhan and Sidon, and to prevent it from being the link between the Bekaa and the South, are two deputies whom Jezzine has now taught a lesson.”

Addressing the people of Jezzine, Bassil said: “This victory today is not solely for the Free Patriotic Movement, but for all the families of Jezzine—first and foremost, the Azar family and MP Ibrahim Azar, the Helou family, our dear friend Ghazi Helou, his brother Mayor David Helou, and all the families of Jezzine.”

He continued: “This victory helps us recognize the true value of Jezzine and who can truly belong to it. Jezzine fears no one. The municipality belongs to all—winners and losers alike—but Jezzine will always remain an Aounist fortress, with walls guarded by the Lebanese flag. Today, many ask me: where will you place the flag?”

“I tell you,” he said, “we can place the flag in every corner of Jezzine, in its district, in our hearts, and in the hearts of the people. But I will postpone raising the flag until 2026, when we will place it in a hundred locations—on your homes and in your hearts. This sweeping and historic victory extends beyond Jezzine city to the entire Jezzine district.”

Bassil pointed out: “This victory was not achieved with ‘traitors’ or those who lack sovereignty. When others tried to ally with MP Ibrahim Azar, they were called sovereign. But when the Free Patriotic Movement allies with him, he suddenly loses his sovereignty?”

He added: “We never accused them of lacking sovereignty when they allied with Hezbollah and its allies in Jounieh, Koura, Aley, and Beirut—or when they received thousands of Shiite votes in Zahle and Byblos. We didn’t label them non-sovereign then.”

“What defines a lack of sovereignty,” he explained, “is when the ‘password’ comes from abroad and they flip positions overnight—one day they support the Orthodox Law, the next day they oppose it; one moment they support hosting refugees in Lebanon, the next they’re against them. One day they are against the President of the Republic, then an envoy visits and suddenly they’re supportive. One day they reject a government with Hezbollah, and the next day they join it.”

Bassil stressed: “A non-sovereign party is one that follows foreign occupation or external guardianship. That’s why the Free Patriotic Movement is the truly sovereign movement in Lebanon. The victory of the people of Jezzine is a victory for their coexistence, a victory for Lebanon’s unity, and a rejection of its division.”

He concluded by reaffirming the Movement’s commitment: “We promise to complete every municipal project—from the landfill to the roads to the Library Street—because we want to make Jezzine the capital of tourism in the South. We are the movement of hope, of joy, of life—the movement of dignified living.”

Bassil ended on a powerful note: “They thought they could cancel the Movement, that they could bury it—but they forgot that we are like seeds: plant us under the soil, and we grow, bloom, and flourish. Our rendezvous is in 2026—to correct the mistake that distanced Jezzine from its environment and to say loud and clear: we never stopped representing you. And in 2026, we return to Jezzine.”