The upcoming municipal elections in South Lebanon are no longer just a contest over local governance or basic services. They have become a fight for existence, for dignity, and for sovereignty.

Today, the South is under siege, being held hostage not by a foreign invader, but by the very forces that claim to protect it. Thousands of citizens have been denied access to their own land, now turned into military zones by Hezbollah. These areas operate beyond the reach of the Lebanese State, rendering rightful owners strangers in their own homeland.

What we are witnessing is not merely a power struggle, it is a systematic dismantling of the State. The rule of law has vanished. The South has become captive to a project that bears no resemblance to its people, its culture, or its proud history of national resistance.

Hezbollah has usurped the State’s decision-making authority, seized private property, and hijacked the future of entire generations. It does all this in the name of “resistance,” a term once noble but now reduced to a pretext for consolidating the power of a statelet built on weapons and intimidation.

The upcoming elections are not a footnote in Lebanon’s political narrative. They mark a pivotal moment to confront this abnormal and unconstitutional reality. The ballot box is the only tool left to push back against the erosion of our republic.

We need municipal leaders who will stand against the expropriation of land, not remain silent in the face of it. We need local councils that reflect the will and voice of the people, not echo chambers for partisan commands or security apparatuses. We need to liberate the South from within—from intimidation, from control, and from the illegal weapons that turn our communities into human shields every time one party unilaterally decides to ignite conflict.

The South today is at a crossroads.
It can either reclaim its national, free, and sovereign identity, or it can remain a hostage to a foreign-backed agenda where neither law nor state prevails.

The choice lies in the hands of the southerners.
The uprising begins at the ballot box.

Let us vote for those who reflect the South’s true spirit and stand up for its people.
Let us reject those who have hijacked it, using resistance, fear, and the shadow state as cover.

This is the English adaptation of an article written by Kataeb Political Bureau member Rita Boulos.