Lebanon presidential candidate on anti-Hezbollah platform

KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — A granddaughter of a former Lebanese president and ex-diplomat has announced her candidacy for the cash-strapped country’s upcoming presidential elections. Tracy Chamoun on Monday blasted Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah at a press conference for their influential role in politics and security, and pledged that her vision for the country would entitle sweeping reforms to pull the country out of a crippling economic crisis that has impoverished over three-quarters of the population. Chamoun’s late grandfather, former president Camillie Chamoun founded the right-wing National Liberal Party which took part in the country’s gruesome 15-year civil war. Her father, Dany Chamoun, was assassinated alongside two of her half-siblings in 1990.