The mission, which will be sent at the invitation of the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities, will be led by Hungarian MEP György Hölvenyi, from the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP).
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, explained that the EU “has committed itself to helping the electoral process in Lebanon by giving significant financial, technical and political support for its preparation”.
Borrell said that the mission’s work “will contribute to an inclusive and transparent electoral process and further strengthen the democratic path and reforms in Lebanon.”
According to the head of European diplomacy, the holding of elections is “above all, a right and an expectation of the people of Lebanon , as well as a sovereign responsibility that the Lebanese government must fulfill”.
In this context, he said that “a constructive participation of all political forces in the upcoming elections will be of vital importance for the country and all the Lebanese people.”
For his part, the chief observer, György Hölvényi, recalled that the EU had already supported the Lebanese parliamentary elections by sending electoral observation missions in 2005, 2009 and 2018.
He added that he hopes the mission’s work will build trust and strengthen the democratic process in the country and hoped to “work with all Lebanese stakeholders, including state authorities, political parties, candidates, religious leaders and representatives, civil society organizations and national and international electoral observers”.
The 2022 EU Election Observation Mission in Lebanon will be made up of different groups of observers.
The Central Team of electoral analysts, based in Beirut, will arrive at the end of March and will be composed of 10 electoral experts who will cover the different aspects of the process.
In mid-April, another 30 observers will join the mission and deploy to the regions to follow the political campaign.
In addition, 40 observers will join the mission around election day to observe the polls, voting and counting.
The EU Electoral Observation Mission will remain in the country until the end of the electoral process.