Shafaqna English- Army Commander General Joseph Aoun was elected as the new President of Lebanon on Thursday (09 Jan 2025) with 99 votes, which ended more than two years of presidential vacuum.
Thirteen MPs voted for “sovereignty and the constitution”, nine cast blank ballots, and two voted for the lawyer Chebli Mallat as five ballots were considered spoiled.
Parliament had failed to elect a president in the first round of voting after Aoun did not garner the 86 votes needed to become president. That prompted Speaker Nabih Berri to schedule a second round for two hours later.
Aoun had received 71 votes in the first round, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots, 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution” and two voted for Mallat.
Source: Nahar Net