Lebanese lawmakers elect president after 2 years of gridlock

Lebanon’s fractured Parliament took a critical step Thursday to end more than two years of crisis and bring stability to a country struggling to recover from an economic disaster and elect a new president. devastating war.

As the legislators could not gather enough votes in the first round, they elected General Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese army, with a large majority in the second round with 99 votes in the 128-seat parliament. It was a breakthrough in efforts to form a government after more than two years weak caretaker rule.

“Today begins a new phase in Lebanon’s history,” General Aoun said during his victory speech.

The vote was seen as a turning point for Lebanon, and people in the capital Beirut celebrated with fireworks and bonfires as soon as the results were announced. The crisis-stricken country has endured a series of disasters in recent years, including economic collapse and the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which has devastated large areas.

Thursday’s elections – often devolved into shouting matches – also reflect shifting power balances in the region and come at a nervous time for Lebanon. In neighboring Syria, an untested government is trying to forge a path forward after years of civil war. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the military defeat of Hezbollah, the long-time dominant political force in Lebanon, also means the sudden loss of power of their patron, Iran.

Lebanon’s international backers, including the United States, have made post-war financial support contingent on the election of a president. According to the World Bank, the Israel-Hezbollah war has been stopped for a period of time a fragile 60-day ceasefirecaused 8.5 billion dollars damage and losses worth Lebanon.

Since October 2022, when Michel Aoun stepped down as president at the end of his six-year term, Parliament has voted for a replacement 12 times without success. According to Lebanon’s inter-denominational power-sharing agreement, the president must be a Maronite Christian.

Hezbollah left the chamber and was the main obstacle that lowered the votes. But the group was deeply weakened A war with Israel and analysts have noted that due to the scale of Lebanon’s financial need, it probably feels it has to make concessions.

Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc remains strong and could have blocked General Aoun’s election, but ultimately threw its weight behind him on Thursday. The group’s candidate withdrew on the eve of the election, a move that was widely expected. Analysts said the war left Hezbollah with little room for political maneuvering.

“It involves a shift in the balance of power in Lebanon,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

General Aoun will now appoint a prime minister in consultation with parliament, and the prime minister – who must be a Sunni Muslim – will then form a government. As no faction has a majority, it is unclear how long this will take. General Aoun said he would hold consultations as soon as possible.

The new president, who is not related to Michel Aoun, is backed by analysts in the United States and is widely respected in Lebanon. He has been in charge of the armed forces since 2017, and they are a unified national body with cross-sectarian support.

“He is seen as an acceptable figure by all of Lebanon’s political elite,” said Lina Khatib of London-based think tank Chatham House. “This is related to the perception in Lebanon that the Lebanese Army is an institution that serves national interests.”

The ambassadors of the United States and Saudi Arabia, the special representative of France for Lebanon and other foreign diplomats participated in the vote on Thursday. A number of diplomatic efforts preceded the vote, including a visit earlier this week by the top US representative to the region, Amos Hochstein, who met with General Aoun and urged lawmakers to break the political deadlock.

Electing General Aoun, who will step down as army chief, would require a constitutional amendment, a move that has precedent but is hotly debated in Parliament. High-ranking public servants must resign two years before being appointed to a public position.

Dozens of lawmakers voted in protest in the first round, including one for “Joseph Amos Bin Farhan,” the confusion of General Aoun’s name with the names of the U.S. and Saudi envoys, reflecting anger among some lawmakers about international influence.

Diplomats hope that General Aoun’s military career will allow him to exert lasting influence over the military and fully comply with the demands of the UN Security Council. Resolution 1701 — A 2006 accord that ended the previous Israel-Hezbollah war but failed to preserve the peace. They hope it will be a blueprint for a longer-term peace once the current ceasefire ends.

During his victory speech, General Aoun promised that only the Lebanese state would have weapons, prompting applause in parliament. Israeli officials said they hoped the Lebanese Army would suppress Hezbollah’s activities in southern Lebanon.

“I hope this choice will contribute to stability, a better future for Lebanon and its people, and good neighborly relations,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on social media.

Addressing parliament and the nation, General Aoun sought to reassure the Lebanese people that he would help restore stability in the country, promising to strengthen the state and fight corruption. He also spoke directly about the devastation of Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

“My pledge is to rebuild what Israel destroyed,” he said.

Aaron Boxerman contributed to the report.