Lebanon must elect president during 60-day truce with Israel as part of ceasefire deal

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Lebanon “must” elect a president during the 60-day truce with Israel as part of the ceasefire deal that ended the war with Hezbollah, three official sources in Beirut told The National on Thursday, as parliament announced a new voting session in January after several failed attempts over the past two years.

The announcement followed the ceasefire deal reached with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, ending a devastating Israeli war that killed about 4,000 Lebanese, destroyed large parts of the country and inflicted unprecedented damage on the militant group.

The truce was largely holding on Thursday although the Israeli army said its air force struck a facility used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets in southern Lebanon.

“During the negotiations that led to the deal, it has been agreed with the mediators that Lebanon must finally elect a president during the 60-day truce,” a senior Lebanese security source close to the negotiations told The National. “It is part of the deal."

According to a governmental source, the ceasefire deal "included a side agreement to elect a president within the 60 days, and to form a government during this period. There was an agreement to reactivate the institutions of the Lebanese state".

Another senior political source in Beirut emphasised that “during the 60-day truce, a session will also be held to elect a President”, without elaborating further.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022. The US, France and other countries have been calling for the election of a new head of state to avoid a power vacuum and help stabilise the country's political life. US envoy Amos Hochstein, who mediated the ceasefire talks between Hezbollah and Israel, said that the election of the president is vital for Lebanon.

January 9

The country's deeply divided parliament, where no faction holds a majority, has repeatedly failed to agree on a successor to Michel Aoun. On Thursday, the state news agency announced that a session would be held next week, marking the first presidential election attempt since June last year, when votes were largely split between Jihad Azour and Suleiman Frangieh, neither of whom secured enough support to win.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed the session date, saying: “I had vowed to myself that immediately after the ceasefire, I would set a date for a session to elect a president for the republic. I am announcing from now on that a session will be set for January 9.” It remains unclear if the session will result in an election.

"The session will be fruitful and we have been given a month to reach an agreement among ourselves, and I will invite the ambassadors to attend it," he added.

The announcement came as French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian was visiting Beirut. France is part of the so-called quintet for Lebanon, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the US. They have repeatedly urged members of parliament to elect a new president, with their respective ambassadors reputedly holding meetings with senior Lebanese leaders to break the deadlock.

Lebanon’s confessional system reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian, the prime ministership for a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament for a Shiite Muslim. In the absence of a president, state authority lies with the Prime Minister and his cabinet. However, Najib Mikati’s caretaker government has limited powers, exacerbating Lebanon’s political and economic paralysis.

The country remains mired in one of the worst economic crises in modern history, worsened by the recent war with Israel, which left large areas of the country in ruins. Electricity, clean water and medicines are in critically short supply, further straining the already struggling population.

Hezbollah, represented in both parliament and government, has persistently backed Suleiman Frangieh, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. However, recent remarks from the group's leader Naim Qassem hinted at a potential shift. He suggested the group might adopt a more co-operative approach, supporting efforts to elect a president and contribute to reconstruction.