UN Security Council calls for Lebanese presidential elections without delay

The UN Security Council issued a statement on Thursday voicing its “disappointment and concern” over the failure to elect a new president in Lebanon within the constitutional time frame, and called for the Lebanese parliament to hold presidential elections without further delay.

The term of Lebanon’s sitting president, Michel Suleiman, expired on 25 May without Lebanon’s divided parliament able to reach a consensus on a new candidate.

In the statement released by the fifteen-member body, the Security Council urged “the parliament to uphold Lebanon’s longstanding democratic tradition and to work to ensure that presidential elections take place as soon as possible and without external interference.”

The statement reiterated the Security Council’s “full support for the government of Lebanon, and the need for sustained international support to Lebanon in addressing the economic, security and humanitarian challenges facing the country”.

Furthermore, the Security Council “appealed to all Lebanese parties to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability … and stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon’s policy of disassociation,” adding that the county should “refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis.”