Lebanon army chief Aoun becomes president after two-year vacancy

Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, ending a more than two-year vacancy and marking a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial meltdown.

Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday, arrived in parliament to take the oath of office to general applause, wearing a dark suit and blue tie instead of his usual military uniform.

"Today, a new phase in Lebanon's history begins," he told the chamber.

Aoun faces the tasks of overseeing a fragile ceasefire in south Lebanon and naming a prime minister capable of implementing the reforms demanded by international creditors in return for a desperately needed bailout.

He said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.

He vowed that the state would have "a monopoly" on bearing weapons after a devastating war this autumn between Israel and Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

"I pledge to call for discussing a comprehensive defence strategy... on the diplomatic, economic and military levels that will enable the Lebanese state -- I repeat, the Lebanese state -- to remove the Israeli occupation and deter its aggression," he said.

Celebrations erupted in Aoun's southern home village of Aishiyeh, where supporters gathered outside a church adorned with his portrait and Lebanese flags, an AFP reporter said.

"We want peace and calm in the country. We hope he will be able to achieve even half of what he promised," said elderly resident Salim Nasr.

- 'Success' -

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri declared Aoun president after 99 out of 128 lawmakers voted in his favour. Aoun is the fifth army commander to become Lebanon's president, and the fourth in a row.

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

The president's powers have been reduced since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

But the position is key to overseeing consultations on naming a new prime minister.

The country has been without a president since October 2022, and a lack of consensus between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs in parliament scuppered a dozen previous election attempts.

A source close to the pro-Hezbollah bloc said its lawmakers spoilt their ballots in a first round of voting on Thursday, leaving Aoun short of the required two-thirds majority.

Representatives from the bloc then met Aoun before the second round, when he was elected.

The war which ended in late November dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah, with longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in an Israeli air strike.

In neighbouring Syria, the Iran-backed group lost a major ally when rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Aoun's election was "a success for all of Lebanon".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he hoped it would "contribute towards stability".

- 'Sovereignty and the constitution' -

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

US President Joe Biden said Aoun was "the right leader" who would provide "critical leadership" in overseeing the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

The UN Security Council emphasised the need for "fully functional state institutions" to address Lebanon's challenges, while Secretary General Antonio Guterres encouraged the "swift formation of a new government", his spokesman said.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed Aoun's election as a "moment of hope", while French President Emmanuel Macron said it paved the way for "reform and the restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty and prosperity".

In a telephone call with Aoun, Macron said he would visit Lebanon "very soon", the French presidency said.

International pressure had mounted ahead of the vote, with just 17 days remaining to complete the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

US, Saudi and French envoys visited Beirut in the run-up, while French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian attended the vote.

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

Some spoilt their ballots by voting for "sovereignty and the constitution", a reference to the fact that Aoun's election would have technically required a constitutional amendment.

Lebanon's constitution does not allow presidential candidates who have held high office in the previous two years.