General Aoun elected Lebanon’s new president, his ‘greatest medal’
The new head of state is elected in the second round of voting this afternoon with 99 votes out of 128. Sources tell AsiaNews that Saudi and Quintet support was key. His first tasks include enforcing Resolution 1701 and upholding an independent judiciary. In his speech he praised the courage of the Lebanese people whose "identity" is inherent in the "diversity" of its various groups.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – General Joseph Khalil Aoun is the new president of Lebanon. The Commander of the Lebanese Armed Force won 99 votes out of 128 votes to become the head of state, a position that became vacant for more than two years, when his predecessor’s mandate, Michel Aoun (unrelated), ended in October 2022, opening a deep political crisis.
In the multiethnic and multireligious country, the highest offices are assigned by convention to representatives of the main ethnoreligious groups: the presidency to a Maronite Christian, the office of prime minister to a Sunni Muslim, and that of the speaker of parliament to a Shia Muslim.
Government sources in Beirut, anonymous because not authorised to speak to the press, told AsiaNews that Aoun's election was made possible by “the support of Saudi Arabia and the United States-France-Egypt-Saudi Arabia-Qatar quintet".
General Aoun is Lebanon’s 14th president and his appointment "puts an end to a prolonged period of political stalemate and represents a glimmer of hope for the country.”
"One of his first tasks will be to ensure the application of Resolution 1701, which orders a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah;” while another will be “to promote the independence of the judiciary.”
After the election and his oath-of-office, Aoun said that he is "the first president of Lebanon’s second centenary at a time of great upheaval in the Middle East.”
Calling the election his “greatest medal”, he stressed the "courage" of the Lebanese and their "identity" which is inherent in the "diversity" of different groups, capable of going beyond "differences”, strong in "mutual support”, especially at a time of “wars and [Israeli] aggression”.
The new president addressed all Lebanese, "wherever they are. We are entering a new era for Lebanon. I take an oath to preserve this nation and pledge to fully fulfil my presidential responsibilities and protect freedoms.”
Aoun went on to say: "We need to change political vision, with regard to the protection of our borders, our economic policies and our conception of the state and development and our environmental policies.”
In Lebanon, presidents are elected by parliament, with a two-third majority or 86 votes, in the first round, then by a simple majority of 50% plus one, or 65 votes. However, General Aoun needed a higher majority (86, as in the first round), because the Lebanese Constitution bans top military officers from becoming the head of state.
For this reason, a constitutional amendment was required, voted by more than 66 per cent of MPs. Similar amendments have been approved in the past; in fact, the new president is the fifth top military to occupy the office.
For over two years, the Lebanese Parliament struggled to pick a president, set in deep divisions, a mirror of cleavages dividing the Middle East, unable to pick a candidate because of disagreements between Hezbollah and its allies and the other political groups.
However, the pro-Iranian Shia movement was weakened by the war with Israel. And Aoun’s victory was facilitated by his Hezbollah-backed rival Suleiman Frangieh’s decision to pull out.
In the first round of voting, held in the morning, the new president received 71 votes, with 37 blank ballots and four annulled.
Born on 10 January 1964 in al-Fil near Beirut, from a family that hails from Al-Aaishiyah, a village in Jezzine district, in the south of the country, Joseph Aoun rose through the army ranks starting in 1983, eventually holding various top posts.
In 2013 he was promoted to the rank of general and, four years later, appointed commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. A Maronite Christian, as required by the Lebanese National Pact, he is married to Neemat Nehmé with whom he has two children, Khalil and Nour.
(Fady Noun contributed to this article)
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21/10/2016 17:38
