President Emile Lahoud yesterday promised to hold "free and honest" elections, an announcement apparently aimed at easing foreign pressure and appeasing the country's anti-Syrian opposition.
Lahoud's pledge, made during a meeting with a EU delegation, came a day after he named moderate, pro-Syrian Najib Mikati as prime minister.
Lahoud, whose country is coming under increasing US and European pressure to ensure elections are held before the current legislature's mandate expires May 31, stressed he had agreed with Mikati on speeding the formation a new Cabinet to prepare for elections.
"The forthcoming parliamentary elections will be an occasion through which the Lebanese will express their political choices in a free, honest and democratic atmosphere," Lahoud told the EU delegation, according to a statement issued by the president's office.
He affirmed Lebanon's commitment to ensuring neutral, transparent elections and said Beirut would accept "neutral local or foreign groups" to monitor the polls.
Mikati's appointment Friday broke a political deadlock, coming two days after Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami quit following several weeks of failed efforts to form a government.
The elections are crucial for the opposition, which backed Mikati in an effort to end the impasse in forming a government and open the way for elections many believe will break Syria's hold on parliament.
The EU urged Lebanese authorities Saturday to hold "free, fair and transparent elections on schedule ... without any outside interference or meddling."
"The European Union will keep a careful watch on the electoral process and stands ready to provide its assistance," said a statement on behalf the EU presidency after the EU delegation meeting with Lahoud.
US officials have also repeatedly called for "free and fair elections" in the presence of international observers without foreign interference -- a reference to Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon which has held enormous political influence in the country since Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976.
Lebanon's opposition groups, long suspicious of Syria's role in influencing the elections, have also demanded international observers to monitor the elections.
Karami's outgoing government has resisted the idea of international observers, arguing that it infringes on Lebanon's sovereignty.
Lahoud said the new Cabinet's priorities will be to steer an electoral bill through parliament and call an election, follow up on the investigation into the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, closely cooperate with an international commission to probe the killing and revive the battered economy.
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