Parliament elects Aoun as Lebanon’s president
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LEBANON’S Michel Aoun, a former general backed by the powerful Hezbollah movement as well as longtime rivals, was elected president yesterday ending a political vacuum of more than two years.
The deeply divided parliament took four rounds of voting to elect Aoun, whose supporters flooded streets and squares across the country to celebrate his victory.
In Beirut’s majority-Christian neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh, supporters launched fireworks and shot volleys of celebratory gunfire, as Aoun took the oath of office before lawmakers.
But analysts have warned his election will not be a “magic wand” for Lebanon, which has seen longstanding political divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria and has struggled to deal with an influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
The 81-year-old former army chief had long eyed the presidency, and his candidacy was backed from the beginning by Shiite movement Hezbollah, his ally since a surprise rapprochement in 2006.
But the key to clinching the post was the shock support of two of his greatest rivals: Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces, and Sunni former premier Saad Hariri.
Hariri, who Aoun is expected to appoint prime minister, said his endorsement was necessary to “protect Lebanon, protect the (political) system, protect the state and protect the Lebanese people.”
Lebanon’s political divide has been deepened by the war in Syria, where Hezbollah and its allies back President Bashar al-Assad, even dispatching fighters to bolster his forces.
Hariri and his political allies firmly oppose Assad, as well as Hezbollah, which they accuse of seeking to monopolise power in Lebanon.
The divisions meant lawmakers were repeatedly unable to reach consensus on a candidate for president, a post reserved for a Maronite Christian and elected by parliament.
Aoun made reference to the war next door in remarks before parliament, saying Lebanon had so far “been spared the fires burning across the region.”
“It remains a priority to prevent any sparks from reaching Lebanon,” he said.
“We must also resolve the issue of Syrian refugees, so that they can return quickly, so that refugee camps do not turn into areas outside the control of the state,” he added.
Lebanon has struggled with the influx of refugees, who have tested the country’s limited resources, as well as the patience of its four million citizens.
Lebanon’s 127 lawmakers took nearly two hours to elect Aoun.
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