Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun Elected as the New President of Lebanon

Lebanon's Parliament elected Army Chief Joseph Aoun as its new president on Thursday, ending a long impassed and presidential vacancy, CNN said.
Aoun won the presidency in two rounds of voting, backed heavily by the United States and Saudi Arabia, who are both in close connection with him and support his tendency toward Washington and Riyadh.

After his election, Aoun left his military job behind and came to parliament in civilian clothes to take the oath.

In his inaugural speech, Aoun heralded a "new era" for Lebanon, pledging to address the protracted economic and political problems besetting the country. He even made an unusual promise to "monopolize weapons" under state control, signaling his intent to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group with considerable military force in Lebanon, as reported by CNN.

Hezbollah, once the most heavily armed militant group in the Middle East, held considerable influence across multiple countries until it suffered significant losses in a recent war with Israel. This conflict, coupled with the weakening of its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has sparked renewed domestic discussions about disarming the group.

The agreement brokered by the United States into a ceasefire pact has further weakened Hezbollah's standing in requiring the withdrawal from the border area between Israel and Hezbollah, while Israeli troops are also obligated to withdraw out of Lebanese territory by January's end as reported by CNN.

Lebanon has had no head of state since October 2022, when the 80-year-old, former president whose supporters included Hezbollah ended his term. Twelve failed attempts to elect a new president in the previous two years have exacerbated the divide between boards pro-West and pro-Iran ones in Lebanon.

In the second voting round, Aoun scored 99 against 128. Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc supported his election in the second round to promote national unity but withheld their votes in the first round as a statement regarding their position on sovereignty which was reported by CNN.