Joseph Aoun elected as president of Lebanon
On January 9th, Lebanon’s lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president after the the country has been without a President for over two years, Al-Monitor reported.
Aoun, who will become 61 on January 10th, arrived in parliament to reportedly “swear his oath to general applause.”
Aoun told the chamber: “Today, a new phase in Lebanon’s history begins.”
The new president faces the tough job of overseeing the ceasefire in south Lebanon and naming a prime minister who will be able to run the reforms urged by international creditors to save the country from its most severe economic crisis.
The new president said he would push for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible for naming a new prime minister.
Aoun pledged that the state would have a “monopoly” on arms after a catastrophic war in autumn between Israel and Hezbollah.
Aoun added: “I pledge to call for discussing a comprehensive defence strategy… on the diplomatic, economic and military levels that will enable the Lebanese state — I repeat, the Lebanese state — to remove the Israeli occupation and deter its aggression.”
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri said “the president is Joseph Aoun,” as 99 lawmakers out of 128 supported his candidacy.
Aoun is the country’s fifth army commander to become the president and the fourth one in a row.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN special coordinator for Lebanon said the election was “as a long-awaited first step towards overcoming Lebanon’s political and institutional vacuum.”
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Hennis-Plasschaert added: “A prime minister must be designated and a government formed without delay.”
This week, Lebanon was bracing for the presidential election attempt, as lawmakers prepared for the 13th parliamentary session to take place on January 9th, France 24 via AFP reported.
Under Lebanon’s confessional power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, which Aoun is.
Previously, deep divisions among the ruling class did obstruct consensus, leaving the presidential position vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022.
Aoun’s candidacy did face resistance from key political factions, including the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) led by Gebran Bassil and the Lebanese Forces (LF) headed by Samir Geagea. Analysts previously suggested that Aoun’s path to victory would require navigating these internal political hurdles and securing backing from Lebanon’s fragmented Sunni blocs.
Hezbollah did back former minister Sleiman Frangieh. However, the political landscape shifted significantly in recent months. David Wood, a Lebanon analyst at the International Crisis Group, said: “Frangieh’s chances have nosedived in recent weeks due to the severe weakening of Hezbollah and the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, his key political backers.”
Analysts have suggested that while Hezbollah could not impose its candidate, it retained the ability to veto nominees it distrusts. Hezbollah’s ally the Amal Movement, led by Nabih Berri, may have been quietly exploring alternative candidates.
Other names which were in circulation included Gebran Bassil, staunch Hezbollah opponent Samir Geagea, former finance minister Jihad Azour, acting security chief Elias Baissari, and lawmakers Nehmat Afram and Ibrahim Kanaan. None have formally declared their candidacies.
US envoy Amos Hochstein, during a visit to Beirut on January 6th, urged Lebanon’s ruling class to leverage the fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah to reach a political consensus.
“Often, it is at the very last minute that regional and international superpowers indicate their preference and put pressure on MPs who simply follow” said Lebanese analyst Karim Bitar.
Lebanon’s prolonged presidential vacuum underscores the political paralysis gripping the country. The lack of leadership has compounded the economic crisis, leaving citizens to endure severe inflation, power outages, and deteriorating public services.
France 24 via AFP, Al-Monitor
