Lebanon’s parliament has elected the head of the country’s army as president, ending a power shortage that has dragged on for more than two years.
Joseph Aoun’s nomination was supported by several political parties, as well as the US, France and Saudi Arabia.
A rival backed by Hezbollah forces withdrew on Wednesday and conceded to the commander.
The office of the president is part of the ceremonies reserved for a Christian under the system of power sharing between denominations.
The election comes six weeks after Lebanon’s government agreed to a ceasefire to end the devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, which has greatly weakened the Iran-backed Shia Muslim group.
The Lebanese army was not involved in the conflict and has an important role under the cease-fire agreement, which requires the deployment of troops in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws and ensures that Hezbollah ends its presence on January 26.
Aoun, 60, is a soldier who has been the army commander since 2017.
During that time, he led the center in the deep crisis that affected Lebanon.
They include the 13-month Hezbollah-Israel conflict, a six-year economic recession that is one of the worst on record in modern times, and the Beirut port explosion in 2020 that killed more than 200 people.
Lebanon has not had a functioning government since the last parliamentary elections in May 2022.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati was unable to secure the support of a new cabinet before then-president Michel Aoun’s term expired in October, leaving his administration with reduced powers.
The legislature then failed to elect a new president 12 times. The last time was in June 2023, when no candidate received enough votes to win the first round before Hezbollah and its partner Amal blocked the second round by exiting.
A presidential candidate in Lebanon can be elected in the first round if he receives a two-thirds majority – or 86 votes – in the 128-seat parliament, or with a simple majority in the second round. However, Speaker Nabih Berri said Aoun needed a two-thirds majority in any round because he was a sitting army commander.
In the first round on Thursday morning, 71 lawmakers voted for Aoun, 15 short of what he needed. Another 37 lawmakers – most of them reportedly from Hezbollah and Amal – cast blank votes, while 20 were declared invalid.
Berri, who is the leader of Amal, then postponed the event until the afternoon, which caused anger among the members of Parliament who wanted the second round to take place immediately.
In the end, Aoun was elected president after receiving 99 votes in the second round, easily winning the required two-thirds majority. Nine legislators cast blank votes, in addition to 18 invalid votes.
Soon after the result was announced by the speaker, TV stations showed scenes of celebrations across the country.
Aoun was later shown arriving at Parliament wearing a suit and checking security before entering the building to be sworn in.
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