Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state on Thursday, filling the presidential vacancy with a U.S.-approved general and showing the diminishing influence of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah after a devastating war with Israel.
The result reflected changes in the balance of power in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah hit hard by last year's war and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad deposed in December.
It also indicated a revival of Saudi influence in a country where Iran and Hezbollah long ago eclipsed Riyadh's role.
The presidential position, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has remained vacant since the term of office of Michel Aoun (no relation) expired in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate who can win enough number of votes in 128 – the seat of parliament.
According to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in the first round of voting, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in the second round after being backed by lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement.
Momentum gathered around Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long-favored candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French and Saudi envoys circulated around Beirut calling for his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said .
A source close to the Saudi royal court said envoys from France, Saudi Arabia and the United States told Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, that international financial aid – including from Saudi Arabia – depended on Aoun's choice.
“The international community has received a very clear signal that it is ready to support Lebanon, but for that we need a president and a government,” Michel Mouawad, an anti-Hezbollah Christian lawmaker who voted for Aoun, told Reuters before the vote.
“We received a message from Saudi Arabia about support,” he added.
From 2022, without a head of state
The election of Joseph Aoun is the first step towards revitalizing government institutions in a country that has neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since the departure of Michel Aoun.
Lebanon, whose economy is still reeling from the devastating financial collapse of 2019, urgently needs international support to recover from a war that the World Bank estimates has cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanese residents bury their dead and try to rebuild their lives as a fragile ceasefire persists between Israel and Hezbollah and CBC News hears divided views on the future of the weakened militant group.
The system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often drag on as factions swap ministerial positions.
Aoun plays a key role in supporting the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel that was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The conditions require the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon as Israeli and Hezbollah forces withdraw.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the U.S.-backed Lebanese Army since 2017. During his tenure, U.S. aid continued to flow to the army, part of a long-standing U.S. policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb Hezbollah's influence.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said the new government will have to implement reforms necessary for Lebanon's economic recovery, stability, security and sovereignty, adding that France calls on all Lebanese political leaders and authorities to work towards achieving these goals.