Elections in Lebanon are currently set for 15 May, but throughout March the ruling political class has alluded to conditions that would buy them time to avoid holding the elections as scheduled. Having already postponed the municipal elections this year, a dangerous precedent has been set which could see the democratic process derailed. The Lebanese should not be fooled: the ruling class is building a narrative around (indefinite) postponement of elections—even if they are not saying it outright.
To help understand where the excuses will come from, The Alternative | البديل took a deep dive into statements made over the past few weeks from Lebanon’s ruling class and came up with the top ten excuses (and the three unifying pretexts) being used to prop up the election postponement narrative.