Following tense scenes early in the session, the first round of Thursday's vote concluded with 71 votes for Joseph Aoun, the widely supported army commander. View on euronews
Lebanon’s parliament elected a new president on January 9 after a two-year political deadlock and 13 failed attempts. Joseph Aoun met the threshold for victory in the second round of voting after his rival, a Hezbollah-backed candidate called Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew from the race.
Lebanese government bonds extended their three-month-long rally on Thursday as the crisis-ravaged country's parliament voted in a new head of state for the first time since 2022.
STORY: Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as the country's new president on Thursday.The move elevates a general who enjoys U.S. approval and underscores the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group following more than a year of devastating war with Israel.
Lebanon has elected a president following a two-year deadlock and power vacuum, signaling a weakened Hezbollah.
Lebanon's parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.
Then, a Saudi delegation headed by the kingdom’s envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, flew into Beirut for the second time in a week. It held a blitz of meetings with various political parties. By the time they left, there was only one candidate left: the US-backed Aoun.
Lebanon's last president, Michel Aoun, left office two years ago, and the position has remained vacant since. He bears no relation to Joseph Aoun. On Thursday, the country is set to hold elections to fill the top post, potentially ushering in a new era of leadership.
Lebanon's parliament convened on Thursday to elect a new head of state, aiming to fill a post which has been vacant since 2022, with political sources expecting army commander General Joseph Aoun to be elected.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began consultations with lawmakers on Monday to designate a prime minister in what political sources saw as a tight race between incumbent Najib Mikati and International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam.
In Lebanon, even Muslims think the Christian identity in the country “is important,” according to the Middle Eastern’s ambassador to the Vatican.
Hundreds protested in Lebanon's second city Tripoli on Sunday, demanding that authorities release Islamists detained during the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an AFP journalist said.The prisoners include Lebanese who had gone to fight with rebels and jihadists against the forces of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad during the conflict,