Lebanon Parliament Elects Joseph Aoun as President

Date: 10 January 2025 - 23:05

News ID: ۱۳۵۷۰۶

BEIRUT (Dispatches) -- After more than two years of political deadlock and economic crises and an Israeli aggression, Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday finally elected former army chief as president of the Lebanese republic.
Lawmakers chose Joseph Aoun after two rounds of voting in the 128-member parliament.
The small Mediterranean country had been without a president since the end of the tenure of former president Michel Aoun, who is not associated with the newly-elected president, in October 2022.
Hezbollah had previously supported Suleiman Frangieh, the leader of a small Christian party in northern Lebanon, as its preferred candidate.
However, Frangieh announced his withdrawal from the race on Wednesday and threw his support behind Aoun, seemingly paving the way for the army commander.
Aoun secured 99 out of 128 votes in Lebanon’s deeply divided parliament, with support from across the political spectrum, including Hezbollah legislators and their rivals.
Aoun, who had served as the 14th commander of the Lebanese armed forces since 2017, formally stepped down from his military role and took the oath of office in parliament, dressed in civilian attire.
He will need to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and establish a new government capable of addressing post-war reconstruction.
In November, the World Bank

provided a preliminary assessment estimating the Israeli war’s physical damage to Lebanon at $8.5 billion.
Since October 2022, Lebanon has been functioning without a formal government, which has worsened a financial crisis that prompted Lebanon to default on $30 billion in Eurobond debt some five years ago.
The country’s divided sectarian power-sharing system is often susceptible to deadlock due to both political and procedural challenges.
It has experienced multiple prolonged presidential vacancies, including the longest one which lasted nearly two and a half years from May 2014 to October 2016, ending with the election of former president Aoun.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday felicitated Aoun on his election, voicing Tehran’s readiness to further enhance cooperation in “all fields” with Beirut.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its readiness to further enhance bilateral cooperation in all fields during your presidency,” he wrote in his congratulatory message.
The Iranian president hoped that the election will bring “political stability, continuous economic growth, and peace and comfort to the dear people of Lebanon.”
“Strengthening resilience and unity will doubtless thwart the Zionist enemy’s avarice towards the Lebanese territory,” he wrote.
On Thursday, the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon congratulated the “brotherly” Lebanese nation and Aoun on election results, hoping for strengthened relations between the two states that would “serve the mutual interests of our two countries and promote stability and prosperity in the region.”