BEIRUT: Lebanon’s lawmakers on Thursday elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacancy in the position, in a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial crisis. Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday, arrived inside parliament to swear his oath to general applause, wearing a dark suit and blue tie instead of his usual military uniform. "Today, a new phase in Lebanon’s history begins,” he told the chamber.
HH the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Thursday addressed a cable of congratulations to Aoun, expressing heartfelt felicitations to him on his election as president, wishing him success for service of the country’s interests and stability, as well as for attaining aspirations toward growth, progress and prosperity for the country.
HH the Amir lauded the historic and distinguished relations bonding the State of Kuwait with the sisterly Republic of Lebanon, affirming his aspiration toward cementing these bonds further and promoting mutual cooperation in various sectors. He hoped the republic and its people would witness further promotion and development and wished the new president good health and wellbeing.
HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah also sent cables of congratulations to the newly elected president.
Aoun faces the daunting tasks of overseeing a ceasefire in south Lebanon and naming a prime minister able to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to save the country from its worst economic crisis in history. He said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.
He vowed that the state would have "a monopoly” on arms after a devastating war this autumn between the Zionist entity and Hezbollah. "I pledge to call for discussing a comprehensive defense strategy... on the diplomatic, economic and military levels that will enable the Lebanese state — I repeat, the Lebanese state — to remove the (Zionist) occupation and deter its aggression,” he added.
Supporters erupted in celebration in Aoun’s home village of Aishiyeh in south Lebanon, where residents had gathered from the morning in front of a church adorned with Lebanese flags and his portrait, an AFP reporter said. Elderly village resident Salim Nasr said he hoped Aoun would succeed. "We want peace and calm in the country. We hope he will be able to achieve even half of what he promised,” he said.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri announced the new president after 99 lawmakers out of 128 backed his candidacy.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row. Under multi-confessional Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, as do military chiefs.
The president’s powers have been reduced since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. But filling the position is key to overseeing consultations towards naming a new prime minister. The Mediterranean country has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun — unrelated to his successor — ended in October 2022.
Zionist Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he hoped his election would "contribute towards stability”. Iran’s embassy in Beirut congratulated Aoun on his win, saying it looked forward to working together to serve "common interests”. Aoun was widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, as well as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
The US embassy in Beirut said Washington was "committed to working closely with President Aoun as he begins his efforts to unite the country”. British ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell on X said Aoun’s election was "a signal of hope for Lebanon”. UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said a prime minister should be designated "and a government formed without delay”. Former colonial power France urged "the appointment of a strong government”.
International pressure had mounted ahead of the vote, with just 17 days remaining in a ceasefire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon after Israeli troops withdraw. But lawmakers from the pro-Hezbollah bloc voted blank in the first round of the vote on Thursday morning, a source close to them said, leaving army chief Aoun short of the required two-thirds majority to be elected outright.
The source said representatives from the bloc met Aoun before lawmakers returned for a second vote. Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad said that by delaying their vote for Aoun, the group had "sent a message that we are the guardians of national consensus”. Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah’s long preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as US, French and Saudi envoys shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians.
France’s envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, attended the vote. Several lawmakers in the second round still objected to what they saw as foreign interference in the vote. Lawmaker Gebran Bassil, leader of one of the biggest Christian factions, told the session that many lawmakers had received "instructions from abroad”. In protest, some rendered their ballot void by voting for "sovereignty and the constitution”, a reference to the fact that Aoun’s election would have technically required a constitutional amendment. Under Lebanon’s constitution, any presidential candidate must have not held high office for at least two years. – Agencies