BEIRUT, Lebanon: Ahmad al-Assad, the founder of a new political party, with the stated aim of giving Shia voters a third option, apart from Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, believes that as much as 50 percent of the Shia vote in Lebanon is up for grabs.

Al-Assad says that his new Lebanese Option Gathering (LOG) will attract voters whose interests do not fall strictly in line with either of the two main Shia electoral blocs.

He insists the LOG is politically independent.

Assad, who also heads the Lebanese Kafa'at Party, said statistics show that 50 percent of the Shia community in Lebanon has no political preference.

In a recent interview with The Daily Star, Assad said "With time and hard work we can bring them under the Lebanese Option Gathering's umbrella."

He said the Shia community has a vested interest in building a strong and united Lebanon as the path to ensuring security, stability, economic growth and development and to put a stop to the migration of youth abroad.

"We want the Shia sect to be part of state-building efforts," Assad said. "Hizbullah feels that its military, ideological and political links with Iran are more important than its commitment to Lebanon."

The use of fear tactics by Hizbullah, he asserted, has silenced many dissenting voices within the sect.

LOG would allow Shias to express their true political convictions, he said.