The mandate of the Head of State was marked by the economic collapse of Lebanon, the devastating explosion of the port of Beirut and an unprecedented popular uprising.
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The political deadlock is worsening in Lebanon, in a country already in the midst of an economic crisis. Michel Aoun left the presidential palace on Sunday, October 30 on the eve of the expiration of his mandate, without a designated successor. His six-year term ended at midnight Monday without the deputies managing to elect his successor because of their political divisions.
Before his departure, the president signed a decree challenging the resigning prime minister’s right to lead the country. It thus accentuates the paralysis of the institutions, while the government must lead the country in the absence of a head of state.
Michel Aoun, founder of the Free Patriotic Movement (allied to Hezbollah), was cheered by thousands of supporters who gathered around the Baabda Palace, east of Beirut. They then escorted him to his private home in an upscale suburb of the capital.
For its part, Parliament has met in vain, four times in the past month, to elect a president: neither the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah camp, the powerful armed movement which dominates political life in Lebanon, nor that of its opponents. do not have a clear majority to impose a candidate. According to the sharing of community power in this multi-confessional country, the post of president must go to a Maronite Christian.
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With the publication of Michel Aoun’s decree, “we are entering a period of executive power vacancy and legislative power paralysis”, Lebanese Forces deputy Ghassan Hasbani told AFP. According to him, the government will have to “reduce activities to a minimum”. Parliament can no longer legislate before the election of a president, while the authorities must œimplement the reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.