Promise Party
The Promise Party, also known as the Waad Party (Arabic: Hizb al-Waad) is a Lebanese political party founded by former Lebanese Forces leader Elie Hobeika.
 |
|---|
| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Lebanon |
|
|
|
|
Other issues
|
 |
Origins
It was formed in 1986 at the town of Zahlé in the Beqaa Valley, originally under the title National Secular Democratic Party – NSDP (Arabic: Hizb al-Watani al-A'almani al-Dimuqrati), later re-designated the 'Promise Party', and served as the political branch of the Syrian-backed Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) militia.
The party held several ministries during the consecutive governments from 1990 to 1998. The party also had several members of parliament from 1992 to 2000.
After the assassination of Hobeika in 2002, the party was led by his wife Gina Hobeika, but its popularity considerably decreased. It still has many thousands of followers in diaspora, mainly in the United States, France, England and Australia. Most members have immigrated after the fall of the tripartite agreements in 1985. Joseph Hobeika, Elie's only son is expected to continue his father's legacy, with an updated reformist vision for the future of Lebanon.
The party is currently independent and has no affiliation to any political entity or player, and is endeavoring to create a sound voice calling for good governance and reform of the judicial system and the economy, and mostly promoting transparency and rejecting corruption.[1]
On the 17th of October 2019, riots have erupted in Lebanon and popular movements went to the streets calling for change, all slogans carried by activists promoted the principles that the Waed Party has been holding in its initials: a national identity, secularism and democracy.
References
| Ministers (20) |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Assembly (128) |
| ||||||