Political shift: National Consensus Bloc emerges with five Sunni MPs

Five Sunni MPs, known as allies of Hezbollah and close to the Syrian regime, have formed a parliamentary bloc titled "National Consensus."

Faisal Karami represents the Sunni seat in the Tripoli-Minieh- Donnieh district, Adnan Traboulsi holds the Sunni seat in the Beirut Second district, Mohammad Yahya represents the Sunni seat in the Akkar district, Taha Naji has a Sunni seat in the Tripoli-Minieh-Donnieh district. Hassan Mourad represents the Sunni seat in the Western Bekaa and Rashaya districts.

A year after the parliamentary elections and with an attempt to limit Sunni representation in the Parliament to the National Moderation Bloc and some Change MPs, according to sources from the National Consensus bloc, the five MPs believed that it was time for the Bloc to voice another Sunni political faction.

However, the first real challenge for the National Consensus Bloc lies in the upcoming presidential elections.

Although the Bloc's MPs have not officially declared their support for the Hezbollah-backed candidate, Sleiman Frangieh, all indications point towards it. This raises the question of who the Bloc will nominate for the position of Prime Minister after the presidential elections and whether Faisal Karami will face other Sunni candidates.

Will the Bloc be an extension of the consultative gathering, whose members were allies of Hezbollah and close to the Syrian regime and Iran, mainly since the new Bloc includes several former members of the previous consultative gathering, such as Faisal Karami, Adnan Traboulsi, and the father of MP Hassan Mourad, Abdul Rahim Mourad?

The National Consensus Bloc, consisting of five MPs, has failed to attract MP Jihad Samad, who refuses to abide by the decisions of any bloc, and it has not succeeded in expanding its sectarian base by including the Alawite MP Haidar Nasser, considering the Bloc to be of a single sect.