Election of president kindles hope in crisis-battered Lebanon

A devastating economic crisis, a political power vacuum, massive corruption and most recently the war between Hezbollah and Israel: For a long time, things were not looking good for Lebanon.

But, after two years without a president, the small Mediterranean country has finally managed to get a head of state. Joseph Aoun, who was Lebanon’s army chief, was elected by parliament on Thursday as the country’s new president.

As he took the oath of office in parliament immediately after his election, the red carpet was being rolled out for his arrival at the long-vacant presidential palace north of the capital Beirut.

The position of president in Lebanon has been unoccupied since the end of October 2022. That’s when Michel Aoun – not related to the new President Aoun – left office as planned.

Sweets were handed out on the streets of Beirut. The first pictures featuring the face of the new head of state adorned the streets of the capital shortly afterwards.

“He is the president of the future Lebanon,” one woman in the capital city said.

Aoun’s election raises hopes for a fresh political start in the country, which is deeply divided along religious lines.

“I had to pinch myself when they announced the result,” a Beirut resident told dpa.

Since October 2022, the political blocs in the country have not been able to agree on a candidate. One of the reasons was the far-reaching power of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

Until recently, Hezbollah has acted like a state within a state. As a political party, it enjoyed huge influence and repeatedly blocked candidates for the office of president and prime minister.

But the militia is significantly weaker since the war with Israel, as well as the upheaval in Syria. The movement got a large portion of its weapons from Iran by smuggling them into Lebanon via neighbouring Syria.

Observers assume that the organization had no choice but to finally agree to Aoun’s election.

The country will enter “a new phase” in its history, Aoun said in his inaugural speech.

He stressed that he will ensure that only the state has access to weapons, apparently referring to Hezbollah, which has so far refused to hand over its own.

During his speech applause filled the entire parliament – with only the Hezbollah deputies remaining silent.

“Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies have lost their influence,” Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), told dpa.

“This is good news for Lebanon,” said Kahwaji.

He added that the country can now count on a lot of help to rebuild the economy and drive reconstruction. “Finally, there is a light in a long, dark tunnel for Lebanon,” Kahwaji said.

Even before the war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in October 2023, the World Bank had described Lebanon’s economic crisis, which started in 2019, as among the most severe in the world since the mid-1800s.

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