Lebanon’s Hizbullah group said that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has been re-elected as its leader for a sixth term. According to the AP, the statement said Naim Kassim also has been re-elected as the group’s deputy leader.

The election came as Hizbullah concluded its congress after months of work and adopted a new political document, believed to be the second of its kind since the open letter of 1985. It also endorsed a series of organizational modifications.

Additionally, Hizbullah elected the Shura Council members as follows:
–         Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah: Hizbullah Secretary General;
–          Sheikh Naim Qassem: Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General;
–          Sheikh Mohamad Yazbek: the head of Hizbullah spiritual body;
–          Sayyed Ibrahim Amin Sayyed: the head of Hizbullah political bureau;
–          Sayyed Hashem Safieddine: the head of Hizbullah Executive Council;
–          Hajj Hussein Khalil: Hizbullah Secretary General political advisor;
–          MP Mohamad Raad: the head of the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc.

Hizbullah’s leadership elections are usually held every three years but they were last held in 2004. A Hizbullah official said the two-year delay was caused by internal Lebanese differences and the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war.