UN chief calls for 'inclusive government' after Lebanon vote
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Lebanon to form an "inclusive government" to tackle the country's economic crisis, after elections held over the weekend, his office has said.
Guterres "looks forward to the swift formation of an inclusive government that can finalize the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and accelerate the implementation of reforms necessary to set Lebanon on the path to recovery," his office said in a statement.
The U.N. chief also called on the country's new parliament "to urgently adopt all legislation necessary to stabilize the economy and improve governance."
He stressed the need for Lebanon’s "political leaders to work jointly with the best interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people in mind."
Lebanon's largest parliamentary bloc, led by Hizbullah, appeared to have suffered a setback against the opposition and independents, according to partial results released on Monday.
Turnout was particularly low in Sunni-dominated areas mostly inhabited by Sunnis -- one of the main communities in the country governed by a political system based on communal power-sharing.
17 May 2022, 16:52
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Saty out of it. Inclusive government of what? So they can be paralyzed but opposing views?
17 May 2022, 19:43
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Guterres cautioned against majority rule,saying, "In my opinion, if the people refuse to change Article 24 which assigns half of parliament to Christians, they explicitly refuse majority rule, so that we self-designated elites can do whatever we want in Lebanon."
AFP issued a correction to this story. "AFP regrets it gave the impression that Lebanese chose to place Christians in a privileged position under the law, in the phrase 'the country [is] governed by a political system based on communal power-sharing'. In fact, France imposed this formula on Lebanon with support from USA and KSA."
