UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka. (Credit: Twitter/@JWronecka)
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said on Tuesday that the Security Council insists on the "urgency" of electing a new president in Lebanon. Lebanon has been facing a total executive power vacuum since the end of Michel Aoun's term as president on Oct. 31.
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Monday to discuss the quarterly report prepared by the organization's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the implementation of Resolution 1701 (2006), which restored a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the deadly 2006 war.
"I briefed the Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the situation in Lebanon," Wronecka tweeted after the meeting.
"Pleased to see the Security Council united in supporting Lebanon while also emphasizing the urgency of electing a new President without delay and delivering on reforms," she added.
Lebanese MPs have failed — in seven parliamentary sessions — to elect a new president due to the lack of consensus between the political parties on who should next hold the post. Such consensus is customary in Lebanon ahead of a candidate succeeding in being elected.
Faced with this political crisis, which comes on top of a large-scale socio-economic collapse, the international community regularly calls on the Lebanese authorities to enact reforms and make progress toward remedying the country's ills.
On Monday, a US Congressional delegation — during a visit to Beirut — urged the Lebanese authorities to elect a president and form a government. The caretaker cabinet of Najib Mikati has been serving in a caretaker capacity since it resigned following parliamentary elections in May.