The head of Hezbollah's Coordination and Liaison Unit, Wafiq Safa, confirmed that the party will not “veto” the nomination of Lebanon’s Army Commander General Joseph Aoun for the country’s presidency.
“Hezbollah does not veto Gen. Aoun’s candidacy for president,” Safa, said in a televised speech on Sunday.
“Our only veto is against Samir Geagea (leader of the Lebanese Forces Party), because he represents a project of sedition and destruction in the country.”
The speech marked Safa’s first public appearance since an Israeli airstrike targeted him in Beirut’s Nuwairi area in October.
The Lebanese Parliament is scheduled to convene on 9 January to elect a new president.
Since former president Michel Aoun left office October of 2022, Lebanon has remained in a political deadlock, with over a dozen attempts at electing a new president failing due to the veto power of political blocs that many claim are acting out of self-interest.
The country is still attempting to rebuild after a brutal waged on it by Israeli forces, following a year of tit-for-tat fighting with Hezbollah, which has had almost all of its old leadership destroyed and key figures killed by Israel, most notably its long-term Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel’s assault on the country has left thousands homeless, particularly in the country’s south and in the capital Beirut’s southern suburbs, with residential areas and civil infrastructure badly damaged.
The war finally ended following a fragile ceasefire agreement reached with Israel, but the country remains mired in a worsening economic crisis.
As part of the ceasefire, Lebanon's armed forces will be deployed into the south of the country in areas formerly inhabited by Hezbollah, something which General Aoun is tasked with overseeing. His candidacy is considered to be one that could potentially unite all domestic factions and gain support from influential outside forces, including the West who see him as a guarantor of maintaining the ceasefire deal with Israel.
The election of a president is seen as a key move in attempting to economically reform and rebuild the country, but victory for any candidate is far from assured.
A quorum of 86 MPs is required to open the first session as well as any subsequent sessions. This quorum requirement has frequently led to political and legal disputes, particularly when the process is deliberately obstructed after the first round of voting, preventing any candidate from securing the necessary majority.