Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun was elected president on Thursday, ending over two years of political deadlock in the crisis-stricken, war-torn country.
"The speaker announces that the president is Joseph Aoun," Speaker Nabih Berri said, reporting that Aoun received 99 out of 128 votes after failing to get a required majority in a first round earlier in the day.
His election came after a source close to Hezbollah and ally Amal said representatives of the blocs met with Aoun after the first round.
The Mediterranean country has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun – not related – ended in October 2022, with tensions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its opponents scuppering a dozen previous votes.
But international pressure has mounted for a successful outcome with just 17 days remaining in a cease-fire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon after a Hezbollah-Israel war last autumn.
Aoun, who will turn 61 on Friday, is widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, as well as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
In the commander's home village of Aishiyeh in south Lebanon, residents had gathered from the morning in front of the church, adorned with several Lebanese flags and his portrait.
The president's powers have been reduced since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. But filling the position is key to overseeing consultations toward naming a new prime minister to lead a government capable of carrying out reforms demanded by international creditors.
