In Lebanon, the parliament has elected a new president.

The Lebanese Parliament elected Joseph Aoun as the head of state on Thursday, January 9, filling a presidential vacancy that lasted more than two years.

CNN reports this news.

According to the publication, Aoun was chosen as president after two rounds of voting in Parliament. The United States and Saudi Arabia actively promoted his candidacy.

Following his proclamation as president, Joseph Aoun effectively lost his powers as the head of the army. He arrived at Parliament in civilian clothing to take the presidential oath.

CNN reminds us that the presidency in Lebanon has been vacant since October 2022, when Michel Aoun's term ended (he has no family ties to Joseph Aoun). The previous president was supported by Hezbollah militants.

Before this, the Parliament had unsuccessfully attempted to elect a new president 12 times in the past two years.

The publication notes that Hezbollah and its ally Amal supported Joseph Aoun in the second round of voting, although they did not cast votes for him in the first round. In the second round, Aoun received 99 out of 128 votes.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that Turkey is ready to provide electricity to Syria and Lebanon. Currently, the country is already supplying electricity to some parts of northern Syria, where it has conducted four military operations since 2016.