BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun said Tuesday parliamentary elections will take place on time in spring 2022 and welcomed the presence of European observers.

Aoun made the remarks during talks with the former head of European Union observers for the 2018 elections, Elena Valenciano, who monitored the 2018 parliamentary elections, at Baabda palace.

"The president told Valenciano that 'Parliamentary elections will take place on time, in spring 2022, and Lebanon welcomes the presence of European observers to follow-up, as happened in 2018'," a presidential statement said.

It added that "President Aoun also asserted that the state will take appropriate measures so that elections take place in an appropriate democratic and secure atmosphere, while emphasizing transparency to secure the widest popular participation in elections."

The statement said Valenciano responded by affirming the EU's readiness to monitor the parliamentary elections next year.

Aoun added that efforts will be exerted to avoid exploiting the difficult economic and living conditions to influence their freedom of choice. This would require supervision of campaign funding, as well as oversight and sanctioning powers of the electoral supervisory body," the statemend said.

Lebanon has been suffering through an economic and political crisis since late 2019, with the country straining to afford subsidizing basic necessitates such as fuel and medicine. After Lebanons government resigned in August last year, the countrys politicians have failed to form a government.

This has led to a political deadlock, barring the country from desperately needed economic reforms and prompting citizens to look forward to parliamentary elections as their only hope for change.

Copyright 2021, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an as is and as available basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.