Three Congressmen co-chairing the U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Caucus have penned a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, voicing concerns over the protracted presidential vacancy in Lebanon.
With Lebanon set to hold its presidential election on June 14, the members highlight the urgent need to break the deadlock and allow the nation to move forward.
Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, as 11 parliamentary electoral sessions have failed to elect a head of state. The international community is alarmed as the approaching session will be the 12th attempt to fill the presidential seat.
“It is time for those who seek to undermine the parliamentary process, block open election procedures, and continue to prevent multiple rounds of ballots to either resolve the impasse and allow the country to move forward, or be held accountable”, stated the congressmen Darrel Issa, Darrin LaHood and Debbie Dingell.
The congress members said that “the inability to select a president is playing out against the backdrop of what the World Bank has estimated is one of the worst economic collapses since the 1850s”, pushing over three-quarters of the population below the poverty line since 2019.
“The United States has a strong interest in a stable, independent Lebanon, elaborated the congressmen. Unfortunately, the presidential vacancy stands in the way of such cooperation. If Parliamentary leaders and other political elites are unable to follow through on Lebanon’s own constitution, preserve a quorum, and allow the multiple rounds of balloting necessary for the selection of a president, the United States and our partners and allies in the region, must consider more serious measures.”
The legislators called on the Biden administration to stress the need for picking a president and reiterated the importance of giving this issue immediate attention. They also asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to get involved in the unfolding crisis.
