Lebanon parliament meets to elect president

Department of Research, Studies and International News 09-01-2025

Lebanon’s lawmakers on Thursday began a session that could see army chief Joseph Aoun elected as president following a vacancy of more than two years.

The Mediterranean country has been without a head of state since the term of Michel Aoun — not a relative — ended in October 2022.

The 128-lawmaker chamber, which has failed to reach consensus a dozen times amid tensions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its opponents, started discussions at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT).

As foreign ambassadors looked on, opposing members of parliament taking the stand to make statements immediately started bickering with each other.

Aoun appears to have backing from the United States and key regional player Saudi Arabia.

Gebran Bassil, the leader of a Christian party opposed to Joseph Aoun’s candidacy, deplored foreign interference.

“We saw there had been orders from abroad to many lawmakers to elect Joseph Aoun,” the head of the Free Patriotic Movement said.

Many parliamentary groups have declared their support for Joseph Aoun, but that did not amount to enough votes ahead of the session for him to win with a two-thirds majority in a first round.

Several other lawmakers say they are against changing the constitution. Under Lebanon’s constitution, any presidential candidate must have not held such a position for at least two years.

Joseph Aoun is still head of the army, after extending his mandate past his planned retirement.

The president’s powers have been reduced since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, but filling the position is key to overseeing consultations towards naming a new prime minister who would lead a new government capable of carrying out reforms demanded by international creditors.