Michel Aoun elected president of Lebanon ending 29-month vacuum
The Lebanese parliament elected former army commander Michel Aoun as president on Monday, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum as part of a political deal that is expected to make Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri prime minister, Reuters reported.
The BBC wrote that Mr Aoun is backed by the powerful Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah. His candidacy was blocked by the rival, Sunni-dominated Future Movement until a deal was struck earlier this month. It will reportedly see the Future Movement’s leader, Saad Hariri, become prime minister.
The stalemate has paralysed Lebanon’s government, which is also struggling to deal with deep divisions over the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria and the arrival of more than one million refugees.
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