Presidential election in Lebanon initially without result

Middle East

Presidential election in Lebanon initially without result

There is great hope for a political restart in Lebanon. Now she was initially disappointed: in a first vote in parliament, no president was elected.

No candidate was able to prevail in the first vote in the Lebanese parliament to elect a new president. The most promising candidate, Chief of General Staff Joseph Aoun, did not achieve the required majority. The general received 71 of the 128 votes. To be successful, he would have had to receive at least 86 votes in the first round.

A second round of voting will take place in the afternoon, announced Parliament President Nabih Berri. A majority of 65 votes would be sufficient. The greatest hope still lies with Aoun. He is also currently responsible for overseeing the ceasefire between the Hezbollah militia and Israel agreed in November.

There was a heated debate in Parliament before the vote. Some MPs refused to vote for Aoun. They argued that there would first have to be a constitutional amendment. According to the constitution, people who have held a senior official position in the previous two years are not allowed to be elected president. However, this rule has already been broken by previous presidential candidates.

The small Mediterranean country is stuck in a political power vacuum. Lebanon has been without a head of state for more than two years after Michel Aoun – no relation to army chief Aoun – left office as planned in 2022. Since then, the country with around six million inhabitants has been led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The current government also has limited ability to act.