Lebanon elects army chief Joseph Aoun as president

LEBANON: Aoun secured 99 votes in the second round of parliamentary voting on Thursday, surpassing the simple majority needed in the 128-seat chamber.

The election was met with jubilant applause in parliament as Aoun clinched the presidency, breaking a streak of failed attempts due to tensions between the Hezbollah movement and its opponents, derailing over a dozen previous votes.

The Mediterranean nation has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun, who is not related to Joseph Aoun, ended in late 2022. The extended political impasse had drawn increasing international pressure, especially with only 17 days remaining in a ceasefire agreement requiring Lebanese troops to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon following last autumn’s Hezbollah-Israel conflict.