Lebanese military chief Joseph Aoun was elected president on Thursday, ending over two years of political impasse within the crisis-stricken, war-torn nation.
“The speaker announces that the president is Joseph Aoun,” Speaker Nabih Berri stated, reporting that Aoun obtained 99 out of 128 votes after failing to get a required majority in a primary spherical earlier within the day.
His election got here after a supply near Hezbollah and ally Amal stated representatives of the blocs met with Aoun after the primary spherical.
The Mediterranean nation has been with no president for the reason that time period of Michel Aoun – not associated – resulted in October 2022, with tensions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah motion and its opponents scuppering a dozen earlier votes.
But worldwide strain has mounted for a profitable consequence with simply 17 days remaining in a cease-fire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon after a Hezbollah-Israel struggle final autumn.
Aoun, who will flip 61 on Friday, is extensively seen as the popular choose of military backer the United States, in addition to regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
In the commander’s residence village of Aishiyeh in south Lebanon, residents had gathered from the morning in entrance of the church, adorned with a number of Lebanese flags and his portrait.
The president’s powers have been diminished for the reason that finish of the 1975-1990 civil struggle. But filling the place is vital to overseeing consultations towards naming a brand new prime minister to steer a authorities able to finishing up reforms demanded by worldwide collectors.
Source: www.dailysabah.com