The US State Department issued the following statement:

“Exactly one year after the end of former President Aoun’s term, Lebanon remains without a president or an empowered government.  Lebanon’s divided parliamentarians have failed to elect a successor to President Aoun, putting their personal ambitions ahead of the interests of their country.  Even as rising tensions along Lebanon’s southern border threaten the country’s stability and the economic crisis deepens, the Lebanese people are deprived of leadership when they need it most. 

Lebanon’s political paralysis does not benefit the Lebanese people.  We call on the country’s parliamentarians to do their duty and elect a president who will put the country and all its people first, commit to forming a government free of corruption, and implement critical economic reforms – chief among them those needed to secure an IMF program, the country’s only viable path out of the current economic crisis.   

The Lebanese people deserve a president who can unite the nation and guide Lebanon safely through the current challenges.”