United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the necessity of holding the Lebanese parliamentary elections on their constitutional dates, and urged politicians to work together to implement reforms that meet the demands of the Lebanese people.

The UN official indicated that he had obtained guarantees from the Lebanese president, the heads of parliament and the government that the elections would be completed on time. This came in a press conference held by Guterres in Beirut on Tuesday, at the conclusion of a 3-day visit to Lebanon, during which he met with Lebanese officials.

Guterres said, "It is necessary to hold free and fair parliamentary elections to be an opportunity for the people to have their voice heard," noting that he had obtained clear guarantees and pledges from officials to hold the elections on time.

And at the end of last October, the Lebanese Parliament passed a law stipulating that the parliamentary elections date could be brought forward to March 27, 2022, instead of May 8 of the same year.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun (right) during a press conference with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (Anatolia)

Fixes and Challenges

Guterres urged officials to carry out the required reforms, adhere to transparency and resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

"In the past two days, I urged Lebanese political leaders to work together to implement reforms that meet the demands of the Lebanese people in order to achieve greater prosperity, accountability, protection and transparency in order to give hope for a better future," the UN Secretary-General said.

"I stressed the need to allow the rapid start of formal negotiations to finalize the agreement with the International Monetary Fund without placing further obstacles," he added.

Guterres said he was "deeply concerned about the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the country, which is causing more people to need humanitarian assistance."

The Lebanese Prime Minister (right) during his meeting with Guterres (Reuters)

Crisis and repercussions

Lebanon has been going through a severe economic crisis for more than two years, classified by the World Bank as one of the 3 most severe economic crises the world has known, which led to a financial and living collapse, and an unprecedented rise in poverty and unemployment rates.

More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line after the Lebanese pound lost 90% of its value in the parallel market.

However, international donors funded only 11% of the allocated UN response plan, which amounts to a total of $383 million, according to Guterres.

Political wrangling is hampering efforts to revive the economy, including talks with the International Monetary Fund that were launched last year but quickly reached a dead end.

A new government was formed last September with the aim of finding a way out of the crisis, but the government has not met since October due to divisions over the investigation into the devastating explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.


Solidarity and demands

Regarding the Beirut port explosion, Guterres announced his solidarity with the families of the victims, adding that justice must be achieved through a transparent and independent investigation.

The explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020, killed 219 people and injured about 7,000 others, in addition to damaging large areas of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

On the demarcation of the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel, Guterres said in response to a question that it is very important for these negotiations to continue, noting that they are proceeding slowly due to the conditions that are being set.

Lebanon and Israel are quarreling over a maritime border area rich in oil and gas, and in October 2020 they began discussions to demarcate the maritime borders, but they were frozen in May 2021, due to fundamental differences.