Reports of Int’l Meeting Concerning Lebanese President
According to Naharnet, “Informed sources have told al-Akhbar that France is still trying to involve Saudi Arabia in the Lebanese details, while the latter is still refusing to discuss candidate names . . . The Saudis and the Americans are not interested in the Lebanese file, despite the French and Qatari initiative, the daily said.” [Naharnet]

PM Mikati Delivers Statement Affirming Need for Reforms
According to Naharnet, “Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that sweeping reforms remain vital to rescue the stricken economy, despite a return to modest growth this year.” [Naharnet]

Constitutional Council Rejects Two Appeals of Invalidation Regarding Parliamentary Elections
According to L’Orient Today, “The Constitutional Council rejected on Thursday the last two appeals to invalidate the results of the May 2022 parliamentary elections, the National news agency reported, citing the president of the council, Tannous Mechleb. The first rejected appeal is that of Jad Ghosn (Charbel Nahas list) against Razi al-Hage (Lebanese Forces) and Hagop Pakradounian (Tashnag), in Metn (Mount Lebanon II). Ghosn obtained more preferential votes than Hage, but his list did not reach the electoral coefficient needed to be elected. The second was the appeal submitted by Haidar Issa (Free Patriotic Movement) against Ahmad Rustom (pro-Future Movement) for an Alawite seat in Akkar (North Lebanon I).” [L’Orient Today]

AbiNader writes, “We all have our stories of Lebanon during the holiday season – at least of the end of year celebrations. My first visit was in 1974 as I was returning to Lebanon from North Yemen (at the time), having served as Peace Corps Training Director in Sanaa. And I thought New York knew how to show off during the holidays! Lights, music, comradery, and a waning feeling of better days to come – despite the growing presence of refugees in the country – were the hallmarks of the season, regardless of affiliation.” 

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“The first parliamentary elections since the beginning of the financial crisis and the October 2019 uprising; the end of Michel Aoun’s mandate; a cholera outbreak; the national currency’s continued depreciation …. For more than three years now, Lebanon has been careening down a treacherous slope of economic and social crisis, and the balance sheet of the past year unfortunately does not inspire any reasonable hope that the downward trend is about to, finally, be reversed. Despite the many political changes that could have allowed for a renewal in the country, Lebanon is facing an unprecedented situation at the end of 2022: a dual executive-level power vacuum in the absence of both a president and a fully empowered government. In this context of political procrastination, no major reforms have been embarked upon by those in charge, while at the same time the injustices in the country continue to thrive.”

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