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UN Chief in Lebanon Mission
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was due in Lebanon on Thursday to meet feuding political leaders and try to persuade them to end a bitter struggle threatening to derail a presidential election. The UN chief, set to arrive on Thursday afternoon, was to meet Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. He was also scheduled to hold talks with leaders of the ruling bloc and the Lebanese national opposition to persuade them to agree on a consensus candidate for the presidency by a November 23 deadline. The two camps have been deadlocked for more than two months on choosing a candidate to replace the current head of state Emile Lahoud.
UN envoy Geir Pedersen said Ban's mission to Beirut was aimed at facilitating the presidential election and ensuring it goes in the right direction. "We need a president before November 24," he said. France has spearheaded diplomatic efforts for the vote to take place with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner convincing Sfeir earlier this week to draw up a list of presidential candidates.
UN envoy Geir Pedersen said Ban's mission to Beirut was aimed at facilitating the presidential election and ensuring it goes in the right direction. "We need a president before November 24," he said. France has spearheaded diplomatic efforts for the vote to take place with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner convincing Sfeir earlier this week to draw up a list of presidential candidates.
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Lebanese newspapers speculated that Nassib Lahoud and Boutros Harb, the two candidates backed by the ruling bloc, would be on the list along with MP General Michel Aoun, the only declared candidate from the opposition.
The patriarch is expected to add three or more names to that list which would then be studied by parliament speaker Nabih Berri and MP Saad Hariri. The pair could then pick two to three candidates to be proposed at a November 21 parliament session for MPs to hold a presidential vote.
Three previous sessions for the election were scrapped for lack of consensus and next week's session is seen as a last-chance attempt to avert a full-blown crisis.