Lebanon welcomes President after 2 years of vacancy, painful past closed?

In a session on January 9, the Lebanese Parliament elected the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, as the new president with a majority of votes.

New Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (left) was sworn in on January 9. (Source: EPA-EFE)

According to Sputnik news agency, local media reported that in the first round of voting, Mr. Joseph Aoun only won 71 votes, failing to reach the required number of 86 votes as required.

The Lebanese parliament held a second round of voting shortly afterwards, and the leading candidate achieved 99 votes, exceeding the threshold needed to win.

Thus, the Lebanese presidential seat has an owner after being vacant since the term of former President Michel Aoun ended on October 31, 2022.

Mr. Joseph Aoun received support from the US and Saudi Arabia – two countries considered to play an important role in the plan to rebuild Lebanon after the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Immediately after the election results, the new President made his first speech to the National Assembly, affirming his efforts to rebuild the country after the conflict, especially the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, and aiming to build good relations between Lebanon and Arab countries, including Syria.

“A new phase in Lebanon’s history begins today,” he asserted, with the state taking full ownership of weapons after a brutal war between Israel and the Hezbollah Islamist movement that left more than 2,000 people dead in Lebanon.

The statement was seen as a reference to Hezbollah's weapons stockpile, an issue he had never commented on publicly during his time as commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army.

In addition, according to Lebanon's new head of state, he will call for "quick consultations with parliament" to appoint a new prime minister .

President Aoun now faces mounting international pressure to achieve his goal of deploying the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in the south of the country, with just 17 days left until a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel expires.

Lebanon's new leader also faces the daunting task of overseeing a ceasefire, as well as naming a prime minister to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to ease the country's worst economic crisis in history.

The representative of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut welcomed the election of Mr. Aoun as President of Lebanon, and expressed hope for close cooperation between the two countries, thereby "serving the common interests of our two countries".

The presidential election session was held under tight security conditions around the Parliament building in the capital Beirut, with the participation of the French President's special envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian and several ambassadors from other countries to the Middle Eastern country.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lebanon-chao-don-tong-thong-sau-2-nam-trong-ghe-qua-khu-dau-thuong-khep-lai-300314.html