Lebanon’s parliament convened on Thursday to elect a new head of state, aiming to fill a post which has been vacant since 2022, with political sources expecting army commander General Joseph Aoun to be elected.

The election of Aoun, who heads Lebanon’s US-backed military and enjoys Washington’s approval, would underline the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel last year.

Aoun requires the support of 86 of parliament’s 128 lawmakers to be elected.

He fell short in the first round, winning 71 votes.

But two senior political sources said he was likely to win in a second round later on Thursday, when lawmakers from Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement are expected to vote for him, after casting blank ballots in the first round.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of Amal, adjourned the session for two hours after the first round to allow for consultations.

The post of president, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes.

Nabil Badr, a Sunni Muslim lawmaker, said a meeting was underway between the two Shi'ite parties and a foreign ambassador after the first session. “They need to try to convince the (Shi’ite) duo,” he told broadcaster Al Jadeed.

Momentum built behind Aoun’s candidacy on Wednesday as French and Saudi envoys urged his election during meetings with Lebanese politicians, three political sources said, reflecting renewed Western and Arab sway in a country where Iran and the heavily armed Hezbollah have been preeminent for years.

Historic Shifts

Aoun’s election would reflect historic shifts in the power balance both in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year’s war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled from power in December.

Aoun’s election is a first step towards reviving government institutions of a country which has had neither a president nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.

Lebanon’s system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.

Aoun, 60, has been commander of the US-backed Lebanese army since 2017. On his watch, US aid continued to flow to the army, part of a long-standing US policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb Hezbollah’s influence.