October 30, (THEWILL) – Lebanon was on Sunday, thrown into another power vacuum as Michel Aoun, left the presidential palace without a successor.
His term officially ends on Monday, but Aoun, 89, signed a decree accepting the resignation of the government a day before the end of his term.
“This morning, I sent a letter to the House of Representatives in accordance with my constitutional powers and signed the government’s resignation decree”, he wrote on Twitter.
His departure comes despite no agreement on his replacement after a deeply divided parliament failed to elect a successor in four attempts.
The country is being run by a caretaker government, as political divisions have prevented the creation of a new Cabinet since parliamentary elections this year.
In the event of a presidential vacuum, the government is supposed to take on presidential powers. But it will be the first time a caretaker government will be called upon to fill the vacuum since the end of Lebanon’s civil war 32 years ago.
Lebanon has been in the grip of an economic crisis that has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history.
There is spiralling national debt, a banking crisis and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. All of these challenges have combined during political upheaval and nationwide protests.
The failure to find a successor to Aoun was not unexpected and has precedent; it took 46 sessions and 29 months for parliament to elect him in 2016.
In the country’s confessional system, the presidency is always reserved for a Maronite Christian.
His departure came as Lebanon’s most senior Maronite Christian cleric, on Sunday, accused authorities of creating a political vacuum by leaving the presidency unfilled.
Patriarch Beshara Al Rai said they had “left this supreme and essential presidency in a vacuum, either deliberately, or out of stupidity or selfishness”.
About the Author
