Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged the Lebanese Wednesday to cast their votes in the parliamentary elections on Sunday.

"Voting is a right and duty that one should not refrain from nor hesitate to perform," Miqati said.

The "destructive actions" of Lebanon’s political and financial leaders are responsible for forcing most of the country’s population into poverty, in violation of international human rights law, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, said in a report published Wednesday.

Urging the country to "change course," De Schutter accused the central bank of an "accounting sleight of hand regarding its losses... that covertly created a massive public debt... which will condemn the Lebanese for generations."

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday stressed that his party should be represented in any future government, as he emphasized that Lebanon cannot be ruled in a unilateral manner regardless of who wins the parliamentary majority.

“We will keep insisting on being present in any government, regardless of its nature, structure and program, in order to protect the resistance's back,” Nasrallah told an electoral rally via video link.

Ex-PM Fouad Saniora on Tuesday strongly dismissed accusations that he has “betrayed” ex-PM Saad Hariri by engaging in the electoral battle despite al-Mustaqbal Movement’s decision to boycott the vote.

“He who can accuse Saniora of betrayal is ‘yet to be born,’” Saniora said in an interview on MTV in response to a question.

Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri on Tuesday said he is in favor of “toppling the system of corruption” but warned that some are “exploiting the corruption issue” in order to “target the resistance” and the “values” of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement.

“In the name of the (Shiite) Duo, I say let the judiciary tackle corruption… We will not provide a cover for anyone,” Berri told a Hizbullah-Amal electoral rally via video link.

The Lebanese Forces on Tuesday filed complaints against Hizbullah with the public prosecution and the Supervisory Commission for Elections, accusing the rival party of practicing “psychological and sectarian incitement and hostile mobilization” in the Baalbek-Hermel electoral district.

“Some of this party’s members, leaders and organized elements have waged media and rhetorical campaigns aimed at sowing discord among the elements of the nation and instilling terror and fear in citizens,” the LF charged.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that “the result of resistance as proposed by Hizbullah is the collapse and disasters we’re witnessing today.”

“Resistance is to live in dignity, but are you living in dignity today? They promise the people that they will fight the universe while our people are living ‘beneath the seventh ground,’” Geagea said, addressing the Shiite community in the Baabda district and entire Lebanon.

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib participated Tuesday in a pledging conference in Brussels for conflict-wracked Syria.

Bou Habib had told France 24 that he will urge the international community to help Lebanon by securing a safe return of the Syrian refugees to their country, as he said the refugee crisis has exacerbated the dire situation in Lebanon.

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday said that the “use of electoral money by some candidates” requires the intervention of the Supervisory Commission for Elections and the judiciary.

“All measures have been taken to hold the elections in an atmosphere of transparency and freedom, and the increase in the nominations of women is a positive issue which we hope would improve further in the next elections,” Aoun told a delegation from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

On Monday, May 9, 32 students from eight private and public schools across Lebanon participated in a contest celebrating Europe Day, as 2022 marks the European Year of the Youth.