UN special coordinator Joanna Wronecka. (Credit: Twitter/@JWronecka)
BEIRUT — United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka has underlined the “urgency for all parties to prioritize Lebanon’s interest and work together for the election of a new president and the empowerment of state institutions.” Wronecka said via Twitter that she delivered her message on Monday during a meeting with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad.
Wronecka added in her tweet that she had thanked Raad for their “exchange on the serious risks of a prolonged political stalemate in Lebanon."
Earlier Monday, Wronecka also met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, Mikati's media office reported in a tweet.
Lebanon continues to face a double executive power vacuum. Baabda Palace has been without a president since Michel Aoun's departure at the end of his presidential term in October, while Mikati's cabinet, which resigned following parliamentary elections in May, continues to govern in a caretaker capacity following failed attempts at cabinet formation while Aoun was still in office.
Since the beginning of the presidential election period, nine consecutive parliamentary sessions have failed to elect a new head of state.
Hezbollah and its allies have until now voted blank, in the absence of consensus among them on a single candidate. Hezbollah appears to be leaning toward Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh, but the Free Patriotic Movement — another ally of the Shiite party — has made it clear its MPs have no intention of voting for Frangieh. FPM leader Gebran Bassil reiterated this in a televised interview on Sunday night.