The Fort Worth Press - Lebanon army chief Aoun becomes president after two-year vacancy

USD -
AED 3.673035
AFN 71.323752
ALL 89.53094
AMD 391.220403
ANG 1.790208
AOA 916.000367
ARS 1072.780296
AUD 1.655081
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.766685
BBD 2.011533
BDT 121.061023
BGN 1.786617
BHD 0.376959
BIF 2961.474188
BMD 1
BND 1.332099
BOB 6.885493
BRL 5.846041
BSD 0.996193
BTN 84.992526
BWP 13.874477
BYN 3.260694
BYR 19600
BZD 2.001147
CAD 1.42285
CDF 2873.000362
CHF 0.861312
CLF 0.025108
CLP 963.503912
CNY 7.28155
CNH 7.295041
COP 4213.53
CRC 503.907996
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 99.605696
CZK 23.045604
DJF 177.720393
DKK 6.808204
DOP 62.907224
DZD 133.546862
EGP 50.555986
ERN 15
ETB 131.300523
EUR 0.91245
FJD 2.314904
FKP 0.762682
GBP 0.776096
GEL 2.750391
GGP 0.762682
GHS 15.444933
GIP 0.762682
GMD 71.503851
GNF 8622.916761
GTQ 7.690049
GYD 208.470909
HKD 7.77465
HNL 25.487566
HRK 6.878104
HTG 130.352909
HUF 370.410388
IDR 16745
ILS 3.74336
IMP 0.762682
INR 85.53285
IQD 1305.312033
IRR 42100.000352
ISK 132.170386
JEP 0.762682
JMD 157.104991
JOD 0.708904
JPY 146.97504
KES 129.250385
KGS 86.768804
KHR 3988.349252
KMF 450.503794
KPW 899.928114
KRW 1459.510383
KWD 0.30779
KYD 0.830341
KZT 505.20544
LAK 21581.388627
LBP 89275.06515
LKR 295.434118
LRD 199.25846
LSL 18.999968
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.818396
MAD 9.490092
MDL 17.606012
MGA 4619.406928
MKD 56.151733
MMK 2099.545327
MNT 3504.730669
MOP 7.976641
MRU 39.72565
MUR 44.670378
MVR 15.403739
MWK 1727.378227
MXN 20.436704
MYR 4.437039
MZN 63.910377
NAD 19.000827
NGN 1532.820377
NIO 36.665011
NOK 10.768404
NPR 135.979445
NZD 1.786991
OMR 0.384617
PAB 0.996508
PEN 3.661278
PGK 4.111636
PHP 57.385038
PKR 279.668989
PLN 3.890384
PYG 7986.705382
QAR 3.6322
RON 4.542038
RSD 106.939038
RUB 84.443694
RWF 1435.583432
SAR 3.752392
SBD 8.316332
SCR 14.336679
SDG 600.503676
SEK 9.992304
SGD 1.345704
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.750371
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 569.320455
SRD 36.646504
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.718942
SYP 13001.416834
SZL 19.003238
THB 34.403649
TJS 10.84572
TMT 3.5
TND 3.051269
TOP 2.342104
TRY 37.993904
TTD 6.749683
TWD 33.177504
TZS 2690.000335
UAH 41.00191
UGX 3642.391584
UYU 42.149384
UZS 12873.912081
VES 70.161515
VND 25805
VUV 123.606268
WST 2.823884
XAF 592.401234
XAG 0.033794
XAU 0.000329
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.736757
XOF 592.438686
XPF 107.728231
YER 245.650363
ZAR 19.124415
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.620652
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    1.0200

    69.02

    +1.48%

  • NGG

    -3.4600

    65.93

    -5.25%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    22.83

    +0.7%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.68

    -0.56%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    22.29

    +0.13%

  • BTI

    -2.0600

    39.86

    -5.17%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

  • GSK

    -2.4800

    36.53

    -6.79%

  • RYCEF

    -1.5500

    8.25

    -18.79%

  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • RIO

    -3.7600

    54.67

    -6.88%

  • BP

    -2.9600

    28.38

    -10.43%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • BCC

    0.8100

    95.44

    +0.85%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    22.71

    +0.22%

  • JRI

    -0.8600

    11.96

    -7.19%

Lebanon army chief Aoun becomes president after two-year vacancy
Lebanon army chief Aoun becomes president after two-year vacancy / Photo: © AFP

Lebanon army chief Aoun becomes president after two-year vacancy

Lebanon's lawmakers elected on Thursday army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacancy of the position, in a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial crisis.

Text size:

Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday, arrived inside parliament to swear his oath to general applause, wearing a dark suit and bright blue tie instead of his usual military uniform.

"A new phase in the history of Lebanon begins today," he told the chamber.

Supporters erupted in celebration in his home village of Aishiyeh in south Lebanon, where residents had gathered from the morning in front of the church which was adorned with Lebanese flags and his portrait, an AFP reporter said.

"The president is Joseph Aoun," Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said after 99 lawmakers out of 128 backed his candidacy.

Aoun faces the daunting tasks of overseeing a ceasefire on the Israeli border and naming a prime minister to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to save the country from the worst economic crisis of its history.

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

Under multi-confessional Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, as do military chiefs.

- Two rounds -

The Mediterranean country has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun -- not related to his successor -- ended in October 2022, with tensions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its opponents scuppering a dozen previous votes.

International pressure has mounted for a successful outcome with just 17 days remaining in a ceasefire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon after a Hezbollah-Israel war last autumn.

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 towards naming a new prime minister to lead a government capable of carrying out reforms demanded by international creditors.

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

But lawmakers from the pro-Hezbollah bloc voted blank in the first round of the vote on Thursday morning, a source close to them said, leaving army chief 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.

- 'Sovereignty and the constitution' -

US, Saudi and French envoys have visited Beirut to increase pressure in the run-up to the vote.

Pope Francis on Thursday expressed hope that Lebanon could "possess the necessary institutional stability... to address the grave economic and social situation".

Several lawmakers in the second round still objected to what they see as foreign interference in the vote.

In protest, some rendered their ballot void by voting for "sovereignty and the constitution", a reference to the fact that Aoun's election would have technically required a constitutional amendment.

Under Lebanon's constitution, any presidential candidate must have not held high office for at least two years.

In the first round, one lawmaker sarcastically cast a vote for the Saudi envoy to Lebanon, Yazid Al Farhan.

During the second round, one chose former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Critics have accused Hezbollah and allies of scuppering previous votes.

 

In neighbouring Syria, Hezbollah has lost a major ally after rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month.

The Hezbollah-Israel war has cost Lebanon more than $5 billion in economic losses, with structural damage amounting to billions more, according to the World Bank.

P.Navarro--TFWP