Lebanon Army Chief Joseph Aoun elected as country’s new President

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament elected Army Chief Joseph Aoun as the country’s new president on Thursday, bringing an end to a prolonged political deadlock and presidential vacancy, CNN reported.

Aoun was elected after two rounds of voting, following extensive efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to garner support for him. Both countries have close ties with Aoun, who is aligned with Washington and Riyadh. After his election, Aoun stepped down from his military role and arrived at the parliament in civilian attire to be sworn in.

In his acceptance speech, Aoun declared the start of a “new era” for Lebanon, vowing to address the country’s ongoing economic and political crises. He also made a rare pledge to “monopolise weapons” under the state’s authority, signalling his intention to disarm Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, which has significant military influence in Lebanon, as reported by CNN.

Notably, Hezbollah, the most heavily armed militant group in the Middle East, had significant influence in several countries until it suffered heavy losses in a recent war with Israel. This conflict, along with the weakening of its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has reignited domestic debate on disarming the group.

#LEBWatch????????:

After 2.5 years of presidential void and 12 failed attempts to elect a president, General Joseph Aoun was elected by the Lebanese Parliament.

The US-backed president vows to “monopolize weapons”, referring to those of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/lroTIn7faX

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 10, 2025

The US-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in November further weakened Hezbollah’s position by stipulating its withdrawal from the border area with Israel, and Israeli forces are required to leave Lebanese territory by the end of January, as reported by CNN. Although Lebanon’s army did not engage directly in the war with Israel, it played a crucial role in implementing the ceasefire terms.

In his speech, Aoun emphasised that Lebanon, as a state, would work to rid itself of Israeli occupation and mentioned the possibility of developing a national defence strategy against Israel without Hezbollah, which has historically been responsible for confronting Israeli forces. “The Lebanese state — I repeat, the Lebanese state — will get rid of the Israeli occupation”, Aoun said as quoted by CNN. “My era will include the discussion of our defensive strategy to enable the Lebanese state to get rid of the Israeli occupation and to retaliate against its aggression”, he added.

Lebanon had been without a president since October 2022, when former President Michel Aoun, backed by Hezbollah, completed his term. Efforts to elect a new president had failed 12 times over the past two years, deepening the divide between Lebanon’s pro-Western and pro-Iran factions.

In the second round of voting, Aoun won 99 votes out of 128. Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc supported his election in the second round to foster national unity but withheld their votes in the first round as a statement of their stance on sovereignty, as reported by CNN. (ANI)