Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said his Future Movement won 21 seats in a parliamentary election on Sunday, down from the 33 he won the last time Lebanon elected a parliament in 2009.
Despite the losses, the result positions Hariri as the frontrunner to form the next government as the Sunni Muslim leader with the biggest bloc in parliament. Lebanon's prime minister has to be a Sunni under its sectarian power sharing system.
"I extend my hand to every Lebanese to participate in shoring up securing political stability and to improve the lives of all the Lebanese," Hariri said in a televised address.
