Hezbollah supports Joseph Aoun for Lebanon's presidency

Hezbollah does not oppose the nomination of General Joseph Aoun, the army commander, for Lebanon’s presidency, the head of the group’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, Wafiq Safa, said.

The movement, he added, does object to Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, taking up the position.

Safa’s comments were made during a live televised speech yesterday from the site of the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

“We do not have a veto against the army commander. Our only veto is against Samir Geagea because he represents a project of discord and destruction for the country,” Safa said.

On 28 November, less than 24 hours after the announcement of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, set 9 January as  the date of the election for the country’s president, according to Al Jazeera Net.

Since former President Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, the Lebanese parliament has failed to elect a new president in 13 sessions over two years, the most recent of which was on 14 June 2023. This prolonged deadlock has led to the sixth presidential vacancy in Lebanon’s modern history.

The leading contenders for the position are Army Commander, Joseph Aoun, and Samir Geagea, alongside Acting General Security Chief Major General Elias Baysari, MPs Neemat Frem and Ibrahim Kanaan, and former ministers Jihad Azour, Ziad Baroud and Jean-Louis Cardahi. Not all candidates have announced that plans to run for the position.

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