Alwaght- MP Michel Aoun was sworn in as Lebanon’s 13th president in a parliamentary session on Monday, putting an end to a 29-month-long power vacuum.
Eighty four members of parliament voted for the 81-year-old veteran Christian leader in the first round.
While he fell short of gaining a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting, a simple majority sufficed in the second round albeit not free of obstruction as it had to be repeated three times over an extra ballot. The former army General won a vast majority with 83 votes.
As soon as the results were announced, supporters engaged in jubilant celebrations particularly in Aoun’s hometown of Haret Hreik, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, has had the support of the resistance group since the beginning of his candidacy. Hezbollah has repeatedly hailed him as a qualified candidate and refused to leave him half way down the road despite the thorns issues they faced along the way.
The country has been stuck in a presidential conundrum since 2014 when former President Michel Sleiman’s term ended. More than forty parliamentary meetings have been held since then without any breakthroughs due to a lack of quorum.
But earlier this month, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri formally endorsed Aoun for the presidency in a surprise attempt to save himself amid a financial crisis that hit the Future Movement leader hard.Hariri’s decision to elect Aoun is seen as a last resort concession to secure his political existence.
Hariri’s vote, in addition to leading Druse politician Walid Jumblatt’s support, made a quorum of two-thirds majority of the 128-parliament possible leading to the convening of Monday’s parliament session.
Under the new deal struck with Aoun, Hariri is set to return to the seat of prime minister.
While the move is seen as a political venture for Hariri, the election result marks a victory for Hezbollah against Saudi Arabia which had been attempting to prevent Aoun from becoming head of state. Riyadh has historically been an indirect key player in internal Lebanese politics through the March 14 movement as of late.
Aoun ran against another Maronite Christian, Marada Movement Leader Suleiman Franjieh. He also faced opposition from Parliament Speaker and Head of the Shiite Amal Movement Nabih Berri.
Aoun visited Syria in 2009, where he met President Bashar al-Assad. In a 2014 interview, Assad said he would welcome Aoun's election as president, calling him a believer in "the resistance" - a reference to Hezbollah.
Aoun has defended Hezbollah's role in Syria, saying that it was defending Lebanon and Lebanese Christians from the threat of extremist militancy.
