UN welcomes election of Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun as president after two-year gap

New Lebanese leader Joseph Aoun has been congratulated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on his election to the presidency.

The army commander’s election ends a two-year absence in the presidency of a country wrestling with Israeli attacks, displaced refugees, political deadlock and a failing economy.

Guterres welcomes his elections and urged the swift formation of a new government, a spokesman for Guterres says.

Aoun must preserve the country’s security and stability, strengthen state authority and implement much-needed reforms, the spokesman says.

Guterres reaffirms the UN’s continual support for Lebanon in line with the Taif Accord and Baabda declaration.

On Friday, Lebanon’s parliament voted to elect Aoun as head of state weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement stopped a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

It comes at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

Aoun, who is not related to former president and general Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the US and Saudi Arabia, global news agency AP reports.

The session was the legislature’s 13th attempt to elect a successor to Michel Aoun, whose term ended in October 2022.

Hezbollah previously backed another candidate, Christian Suleiman Frangieh, who has close ties to former Syrian President Bashar Assad. But Frangieh announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed Aoun.

Some observers told AP that they believe that the military and political weakening of Hezbollah after its war with Israel and the fall of Assad in Syria paved the way for Thursday’s election.

In a first round of voting, Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright, AP said.

Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots and 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution.”

In the second round, he received 99 votes.