Security conditions and political stalemate are combining to create a “climate of ongoing crisis” in Lebanon, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in a new report released Wednesday, stressing the need to hold free and fair presidential elections next month without any foreign interference. “There must not be a constitutional void at the level of the presidency, nor two rival governments,” Ban warned in his latest report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, adding that political dialogue must enable the election of a new president before the constitutional deadline of November 24. The secretary-general noted that for the first time since the end of the country's civil war, the Lebanese people have the opportunity to conduct free and fair presidential elections “according to the Lebanese constitutional rules and without any foreign interference.” “Such an election would signify a major milestone on the road towards the full re-assertion by Lebanon of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence, as is the goal of Resolution 1559,” which was adopted by the Security Council in 2004. Ban also expressed his concern over signs that most political parties in Lebanon appear to be preparing for the possible further deterioration of the situation by re-arming in contravention of Resolution 1559, which calls for groups' disbandment and disarmament. Repeating his call on all Lebanese parties to immediately stop efforts to re-arm and engage in weapons training, the secretary-general emphasized that a return to political dialogue is “absolutely imperative” and the only way to resolve critical issues.
