Collage by Jaimee Lee Haddad/L’Orient-Le Jour
Two years, three months, and 11 days. That’s how long it took Lebanon’s Parliament to find a successor to Michel Aoun since the first electoral session on Sept. 29, 2022. On Thursday, lawmakers elected the army commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun.While the days of repeated failures in the chamber may now feel like a distant memory, one word sums up the entire period: maskhara — or “farce” — even during this final session.The period will be remembered for the systematic obstruction by certain MPs, waves of blank ballots, and the bizarre names scribbled on voting slips — like Martin Luther King or Bernie Sanders. Some sessions descended into heated bickering, while others featured Speaker Nabih Berri brushing off remarks from all sides. Read more Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s new president: A flawless military record, a political enigma Here are...
Two years, three months, and 11 days. That’s how long it took Lebanon’s Parliament to find a successor to Michel Aoun since the first electoral session on Sept. 29, 2022. On Thursday, lawmakers elected the army commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun.While the days of repeated failures in the chamber may now feel like a distant memory, one word sums up the entire period: maskhara — or “farce” — even during this final session.The period will be remembered for the systematic obstruction by certain MPs, waves of blank ballots, and the bizarre names scribbled on voting slips — like Martin Luther King or Bernie Sanders. Some sessions descended into heated bickering, while others featured Speaker Nabih Berri brushing off remarks from all sides. Read more Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s new president: A flawless military record, a political...
