Baroud Briefs Top Diplomats on Electoral Preparations: Polls Will Be Held on Time
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on Tuesday reassured the international community that the elections will be held on June 7 as scheduled and said preparations for the polls were near complete.
He was speaking at a meeting with EU Ambassador Patrick Renauld, the head of the EU delegation monitoring the polls Jose Ignacio Salafranca, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams and Arab and foreign ambassadors.
Briefing his visitors on electoral preparations, Baroud said: "There are no indications that the elections will not be held on time. There will be no obstacles."
However, he stressed the need for the government to complete the appointment of Constitutional Council members in order to guarantee "a smooth transition to the next phase."
The council will ensure that any challenge to the results will be made in "the context of the judiciary and not for political considerations," he added.
Praising Lebanon”s partnership with donor parties, Baroud assured them that the interior ministry was carrying out its work with "absolute transparency and in compliance with international standards."
Baroud said the ministry has received all the necessary equipment for the polling stations and promised to provide more details at a later time.
He also said preparations were complete for registrars to cast their ballots on June 4, adding that an operations room will be ready soon to receive complaints and to monitor the electoral process.
Baroud expressed confidence that delegations monitoring the elections will respect "an honorary agreement under which they are not to interfere in the electoral process, will respect the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and abide by applied laws and regulations."