Lebanon’s political crisis ends as army chief Joseph Aoun elected president

Lebanon's parliament has elected Army Chief Joseph Aoun as the country's new president, bringing an end to a years-long political deadlock and a presidential vacuum.

Aoun, a candidate with strong backing from the United States and Saudi Arabia, was elected after two rounds of voting, signalling a breakthrough in the political stalemate, Caliber.Az reports referencing US media.

Aoun, who has close ties with Washington and Riyadh, officially stepped down from his military position following the election and arrived at parliament in civilian attire to take the oath of office as president.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, when former President Michel Aoun's term ended. Michel Aoun, who was supported by the Iran-backed Hezbollah, had left a divided country with ongoing struggles to select a successor. Efforts to resolve the impasse had failed, heightening tensions between Lebanon’s pro-Western and pro-Iranian factions.

Before January 9, there had been 12 unsuccessful attempts to elect a new president in the past two years. The long-awaited election came after several regional developments, including a US-brokered ceasefire that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel in November 2024. The ceasefire and Israel's heavy blows to Hezbollah seemed to pave the way for the election. Additionally, the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally of Iran, further weakened Hezbollah's position, which had been relying on Assad's territory for weapon shipments from Iran.

Although Hezbollah and its main Shia ally Amal had initially withheld their votes, they are believed to have supported Aoun in the second round, helping him secure 99 out of 128 parliamentary votes.

Although the Lebanese army was not involved in the recent conflict with Israel, it plays a central role in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, which requires the army to deploy in areas controlled by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border. The agreement also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory.

Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president is traditionally a Maronite Christian, and Aoun’s election marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in the country’s political history.

By Tamilla Hasanova