Lebanon postpones local elections by a year to avoid more paralysis

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads a parliament session in Beirut, Lebanon April 18, 2023. Lebanese Parliament/Handout via REUTERS

Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday voted to extend the terms of municipal councils and other local officials, delaying elections to avoid further political paralysis in a country still in the throes of an economic meltdown.

Lebanon's state institutions are already in a power vacuum, with the presidency empty since Michel Aoun's term expired in October 2022 and no agreement as to who should replace him.