Lebanon’s parliament elected Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a U.S.-endorsed general and demonstrating the diminishing influence of the US-backed Hezbollah group. Iran after its devastating war with Israel.
In a speech to the House, Aoun, 60, pledged to work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to bear arms, drawing loud applause as lawmakers from Hezbollah – which leads its own forces soldiers – remained seated.
He promised to rebuild southern Lebanon and other parts of the country that he said were destroyed by Israel, and also to prevent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, mired in economic and political crises even before the last conflict.
“Today, a new phase in Lebanon’s history begins,” he said.
The result reflects shifts in the balance of power in Lebanon and the broader Middle East, with Shiite Muslim Hezbollah hit hard by last year’s war and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad. overturned in December.
It also indicates a revival of Saudi influence in a country where Riyadh’s role has long been eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar congratulated Lebanon, saying he hoped Aoun’s election would contribute to stability and good neighborly relations.
U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson, present at the session, told Reuters she was “very happy” with Aoun’s election.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since the end of the mandate of Michel Aoun (no relation) in October 2022, with the deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate capable of winning enough votes in all 128 elections. -seat parliament.
Saudi Arabia expresses support for Aoun
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in the first round, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in the second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal movement, supported him.
Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad said that by delaying the vote for Aoun, the group had “sent the message that we are the guardians of the national consensus.”
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday when Hezbollah’s longtime favored candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared his support for the army commander, and as French and Saudi envoys shuttled around of Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
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A source close to the Saudi royal court said French, Saudi and American envoys told Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, that international financial aid – including from Saudi Arabia – depended on the election of Aoun.
“There is a very clear message from the international community that it is ready to support Lebanon, but that requires a president, a government,” Michel Mouawad, a Christian lawmaker opposed to Hezbollah who voted for Aoun, told Reuters .
“We received a message of support from the Saudis,” he added. The Saudi king and crown prince congratulated Aoun.
His election is a first step towards the revival of government institutions in a country which has had neither head of state nor fully empowered cabinet since the departure of Michel Aoun.
Lebanon, whose economy is still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild after the war, which the World Bank says cost the country 8.5 billion US dollars.
Much of the damage is in predominantly Shiite areas, where Hezbollah benefits from support. Hezbollah called for Arab and international support for Lebanon.
Lebanon’s system of government now requires Aoun to hold consultations with lawmakers to appoint a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be drawn out as factions haggle over ministerial portfolios.
Elections open a new phase for Lebanon
France said Thursday that the elections opened a new page for Lebanon.
“This election must now be followed by the appointment of a strong government” capable of “carrying out the reforms necessary for the economic recovery, stability, security and sovereignty of Lebanon,” declared the spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lemoine.
Lebanon’s international bonds, in default since 2020, recovered after the announcement of Aoun’s victory.
Aoun played a key role in strengthening a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, negotiated by Washington and Paris in November. Conditions require the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw their forces.
Opponents of Aoun’s candidacy said his election was the result of foreign pressure. MP Gebran Bassil, leader of one of the largest Christian factions, said during the session that many lawmakers had received “instructions from abroad.”
But Melhem Riachi, a Christian lawmaker who voted for Aoun, said the election marked the end of the previous era with “an Iranian face.”
“This is the era of Lebanon’s harmony with the international community,” he said.
