The U.N. chief called for Lebanon's parliamentary elections on May 15 to be "free, fair transparent and inclusive" in a report circulated Wednesday and urged the quick formation of a government afterward that gives priority to implementing reforms addressing the country's multiple crises.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the U.N. Security Council that political polarization in the country has deepened and the Lebanese people "are struggling daily to meet basic essential needs." He pointed to frequent protests across the country sparked by "public frustration with the political situation and the economic and financial crisis."

President Michel Aoun has stepped into the ongoing debate in the country over electoral spending, days after a war of words erupted over the issue between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.

A senior Shiite cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, on Tuesday announced that voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections is a “national and religious duty,” as he called for “purging state administrations and institutions of U.S. influence.”

The Lebanese Forces on Monday snapped back at Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil over the issue of electoral spending, blasting him as the "thief of the republic."

President Michel Aoun on Sunday greeted Lebanese workers as the country marked Labor Day, pledging that he will continue to work for “transforming Lebanon’s economy from a rentier economy into a productive one.”

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has lamented that a “problem” happens whenever he wants to visit a certain region, warning that the FPM may boycott the May 15 parliamentary elections if authorities do not protect freedom of movement for him and the other FPM candidates.

Lebanese university students who fled Ukraine are now struggling to complete their education back home, facing a precarious future as an unprecedented economic crisis crushes their country and their career prospects.

Unrest erupted Saturday in Akkar over a visit to the northern region by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.

A week ago, the boat carrying Bilal Dandashi, his relatives and dozens of others hoping to escape Lebanon and reach Europe sank in the Mediterranean. Dandashi still doesn't know if his wife and children are alive or dead.

Their boat sank in the darkness of night in a matter of seconds after a collision with a Lebanese Navy ship trying to stop the migrants. Of the around 60 men, women and children on board, 47 were rescued, seven bodies were found — and the rest remain missing.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday announced that Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections will not prevent his group from responding to any Israeli hostile act.

“I tell the Zionists that their planned exercises do not scare us but we will be prepared,” Nasrallah said in a speech marking Quds Day, referring to Israeli military exercises that will begin in early May.