Aoun is widely seen as the preferred pick of the United States and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun has been elected as the country’s president, ending a power vacuum that lasted for more than two years.

Aoun secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament to win the presidency in a second round of voting on Thursday afternoon – a move that came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted 14 months of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, as the country seeks aid for reconstruction.

“A new phase in the history of Lebanon begins today,” 60-year-old Aoun told the chamber after he was sworn in.

Aoun’s victory, which saw members of parliament erupting in celebration as he reached the required threshold of 86 votes, came on the legislature’s 13th attempt to find a successor for Michel Aoun – not related – whose term ended in October 2022.

“There is no doubt the election of Joseph Aoun is a new era in Lebanon,” said Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut.  “Joseph Aoun really is a favourite candidate of the international community, but … he really does enjoy support here.”

The balance of power in Lebanon had shifted, she said, noting that Israel’s war on Lebanon had “weakened” Hezbollah.

“This country needs billions of dollars of reconstruction money and that money won’t come in until Lebanon elects a president that the international community believes is reform minded, outside what they believe is a corrupt political class,” she said.

In his acceptance speech, Aoun had focused on “building” the nation and its army while sending the message that nobody had been “defeated”.

“This is a country where there are deep … political and sectarian divisions. If one community feels that they have been left out, then there cannot be civil peace. This country does not function if there is no consensus,” said Khodr.

Daunting remit

The Mediterranean country had been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun ended in October 2022, with tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents scuppering a dozen previous votes.

In the first round of voting earlier in the day, lawmakers from the pro-Hezbollah bloc had voted blank, a source close to them said, leaving Aoun short of the required two-thirds majority to win outright.

The source said representatives from the bloc met Aoun at the parliament during a break before lawmakers returned for a second vote.

International pressure had mounted for a successful outcome with just 17 days remaining in a ceasefire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon.

Aoun now faces the daunting tasks of overseeing the ceasefire and naming a prime minister to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to alleviate the country’s worst economic crisis in its history.

‘A new page’

Aoun was widely seen as the preferred pick of the United States, as well as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

US ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, who attended Thursday’s session at the Lebanese parliament along with other foreign envoys, said she was “very happy” about Aoun’s election.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Aoun on his election, according to Saudi state media.

Iran’s embassy in Beirut also welcomed Aoun’s election, stating on X that it was looking forward to working together and hoping “to cooperate in different fields in a way that serves the common interests for our countries”.

Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said that the result opened a new page for Lebanon, calling for Aoun’s election to be followed by the appointment of a strong government capable of carrying out reforms for “Lebanon’s economic recovery, stability, security and sovereignty”.

UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the election “as a long-awaited first step towards overcoming Lebanon’s political and institutional vacuum”.

“A prime minister must be designated and a government formed without delay,” she said.

Joseph Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies