Contact Us

Lebanon’s Mikati calls for ‘political will’ to elect new president

Anadolu Agency MIDDLE EAST
Published December 03,2022
Subscribe
(AA Photo)

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday that "political will" is required to end an impasse on the election of a new president.

"What is needed first and foremost is the political will of various political forces and blocs to complete the formation of constitutional institutions by electing a new president as soon as possible," Mikati said at a press conference in Beirut.

He said Lebanon is facing a suffocating crisis reflected in all aspects of life, calling for making required "reform laws" before moving to a final agreement with the International Monetary Fund to achieve the "promised economic recovery."

On Thursday, Lebanese lawmakers failed for the eighth time to elect a new president.

Former President Michel Aoun left office on Oct. 31 after completing a six-year term, without lawmakers agreeing on a successor.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a crippling economic crisis that, according to the World Bank, is one of the worst the world has seen in modern times.

The country has been without a fully functioning government since May, with Mikati and his Cabinet having limited powers in their current caretaker status.