BEIRUT-Already mired in political and economic crises, Lebanon is now also without a president after Michael Aoun’s mandate expired without a successor. Aoun’s six-year term, that came to a close on Sunday, was marred by mass protests, a painful economic downturn and the August 2020 mega-explosion of ammonium nitrate that killed hundreds and laid waste to swathes of the capital Beirut.
Today, headed by a caretaker government, Lebanon is unable to enact the reforms needed to access billions of dollars from international lenders to help save an economy in free-fall since late 2019.In Lebanon, power is divided among the country’s main sects -- none of whom hold a clear majority. Aoun left the presidential palace Sunday, a day before the end of his term, cheered on by a few thousand supporters. In Lebanon, lawmakers vote in parliament for president. Parliament has held four rounds of voting since last month, with no candidate garnering enough support to succeed Aoun. Some lawmakers accuse the powerful Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement and its allies of obstructing the vote to negotiate with other blocs. They adopted a similar tactic in the last election by boycotting the vote in parliament -- a move that left Lebanon without a president for more than two years, until Aoun’s 2016 win.