Lebanon’s parliament is set to vote to elect a president to fill a more than an two-year-long presidential vacuum. While 12 previous sessions failed to elect a successor to former President Michel Aoun whose term ended in October 2022, there are indications that Thursday’s vote may produce a head of state. The leading candidate is Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun. He is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
