BEIRUT: Michel Aoun Tuesday began his six-year term as Lebanon’s 13th president after gaining an absolute majority in Parliament, gearing up for consultations later this week with various blocs on designating a new prime minister to form a Cabinet to tackle challenges facing the country.
Minutes after he was sworn in as head of state during a Parliament session attended by all 127 chamber members, Aoun pledged to protect Lebanon from the bloody spillover of the 5-year-old war in Syria, urged “a real partnership” among the divided factions, while stressing that political stability can be secured with the full implementation of the Taif Accord that ended the 1975-90 Civil War.
“I came at a hard time, and there is a lot of hope that I will overcome difficulties. … The Lebanese need their state to protect their rights and obligations and for there to be a president who guarantees safety,” Aoun said.
In his first decree shortly after taking office at the presidential palace in Baabda, Aoun, the 83-year-old founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, called on the current Cabinet to continue to serve in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
Later, an official statement issued by Baabda Palace said Aoun has decided to hold binding consultations with various parliamentary blocs Wednesday and Thursday to poll them on their choice for a prime minister.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose endorsement of Aoun’s presidential bid was pivotal in ensuring his election to the country’s top post, is widely expected to be named the next prime minister given the fact that he heads the largest bloc in Parliament (33 MPs), in addition to enjoying the support of major blocs and independent lawmakers.
The FPM and the Future Movement have reached a political deal to end the 29-month presidential vacuum, calling for supporting Aoun for president and naming Hariri prime minister.
“We hope that a national unity government will be formed with the participation of all the parties,” Hariri told reporters on the stairs of the Parliament building following Aoun’s election. He said the election of Aoun to the presidency was the beginning to put an end to the 2-1/2-year presidential vacuum.
But judging by previous Cabinet formation attempts, Hariri is expected to face a tough task in his bid to put together a national unity government, given the diametrically opposed demands of the rival factions vying for key ministerial portfolios.
Contrary to wide expectations, Aoun was not elected with a two-thirds majority, or 86 MPs, in the first round of voting, when he only garnered 84 votes out of the 127 cats by lawmakers present at the session. Instead, he secured an absolute majority of 83 votes in the second round after a chaotic session that saw four rounds of voting because extra ballots appeared in the ballot box twice.Speaker Nabih Berri declared Aoun an elected president after he managed to secure 83 votes in the second round of voting when he needed only 65 votes to win.
The second round was repeated twice after an extra vote – 128 instead of 127 – appeared for a second time in the counting process.
Thirty-six, mostly from Berri’s and Frangieh’s blocs and some independent lawmakers, of the 127 lawmakers cast blank ballots in both rounds, in line with a request from Frangieh.
The five Kataeb MPs cast papers reading: “The Cedar Revolution continues in the service of Lebanon.” A lawmaker submitted a paper voting for Lebanese singer and social media celebrity Myriam Klink as well as one vote for MP Gilbert Zwein in the first round, while another voted for “Zorba the Greek” in the second round. All these seven votes were considered invalid. This is in addition to a paper that carried the name of MP Strida Geagea, wife of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.
About 180 officials and personalities attended the Parliament session, including the U.S., Russian, Iranian and Syrian ambassadors to Lebanon and Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi.
Berri, who had opposed Aoun’s election, expressed hope that the era of the newly elected president would turn a new page in Lebanon’s history.
“We pledge to you to lead the nation’s ship to the safety shores, as winds and waves around us are threatening more divisions in [Arab] countries … Your election should be the beginning and not the end,” Berri said in a brief speech, congratulating Aoun on his election. “This Parliament is ready to extend hands for the rise of Lebanon.”
Moments after Berri’s speech, Aoun, after taking the constitutional oath, promised to shield Lebanon from the negative fallout of the war in neighboring Syria.
“Lebanon is still treading through a minefield, but it has been spared the fires raging across the region,” Aoun said. “It remains a priority to prevent any sparks from reaching Lebanon. Hence, the need to distance Lebanon from external struggles.”
He called for the adoption of “an independent foreign policy based on Lebanon’s supreme interest and respect of international law.”
Referring to the FPM’s repeated demands in the past few months for the implementation of the National Charter’s equal power sharing formula between Muslims and Christians, Aoun said: “I honestly hope that my mandate will see a qualitative move in setting up a real national partnership in various state posts and constitutional authorities.”
He underlined that national partnership and the implementation of the National Charter were the key to political stability.
“The first step toward the desired stability is political stability which cannot be secured except by respecting the [National] Charter, the Constitution and laws through national partnership which is at the core of our system and uniqueness of our entity,” Aoun said. “In this context comes the need to implement the National Accord Document without selectivity,” he added, referring to the Taif Accord.
Aoun promised a preemptive battle against terrorism, in reference to Daesh (ISIS) and Nusra Front militants who have frequently clashed with the Lebanese Army on Lebanon’s northeastern border with Syria.
He also called for the approval of a new and fair electoral law before parliamentary elections, economic reforms and a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Aoun vowed to strengthen the Lebanese Army to enable it to prevent aggressors from targeting Lebanon’s territories.
Following the Parliament session, Aoun was driven to the presidential palace in the southeastern Beirut suburb of Baabda, returning exactly 26 years after he was forced out of it as army commander and interim premier by Syrian forces and Lebanese troops loyal to a rival commander.
At Baabda Palace, Aoun’s wife, Nadia, and their three daughters along with their husbands and children were waiting to congratulate him.
Members of Parliament broke out in applause after Aoun was finally declared president by Berri. His supporters across the country erupted in cheers as they watched the proceedings on huge screens set up in the streets. Fireworks and celebratory gunfire echoed across Beirut.
Meanwhile, regional and global powers quickly welcomed Aoun’s election, reflecting the international community’s joy with ending the presidential vacuum, which has paralyzed Parliament legislation and crippled the government’s work for more than two years.
Aoun received a series of phone calls from Arab and foreign leaders, including French President Francois Hollande, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tammim Bin Hamad al-Thani, congratulating him on his election and wishing him success in his new mission.
Rouhani described Aoun’s election as “a victory of democracy,” saying it will bolster “the Lebanese resistance axis against threats of takfiri movements, terrorist groups and the ambitions of the Zionist entity.”
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah also spoke by phone with Aoun, “blessing his election as president of Lebanon and wishing him a long life and success in his new national responsibilities.”
The U.S. State Department hailed Aoun’s election. “This is a moment of opportunity, as Lebanon emerges from years of political impasse, to restore government functions and build a more stable and prosperous future for all Lebanese citizens,” U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his support Aoun’s election, while simultaneously noting the challenges still facing the Lebanese state. “The people of Lebanon deserve to have functioning state institutions,” he said. “The secretary general, therefore, encourages the formation without delay of a government that can effectively serve the needs of all Lebanese citizens and address the serious challenges facing the country,” said a statement issued by Ban’s spokesman.