U.S. opposes delay in Lebanese elections planned for May

WASHINGTON - The United States sees no reason or justification for delaying Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for May, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said on Tuesday.
"Obviously we think it is important that elections take place when they are supposed to take place, which is before the end of May," Ereli said.
It is a U.S. priority "that the Lebanese people be given the opportunity to choose their own government free of foreign interference and free of intimidation within the parameters set by Lebanese law," he added.
The United States will work with the government of Lebanon and the international community, including the United Nations, "to do everything possible to help the Lebanese have elections in the time frame that is provided for," Ereli said.
UN special envoy to Lebanon Terje Roed-Larsen will travel to Lebanon next week, and one of his top priorities will be "helping prepare Lebanon for the elections that, frankly, the Lebanese people deserve," Ereli said.