Lebanese President Michel Aoun left Lebanon's presidential palace Sunday marking the end of his six-year term without a replacement, leaving the small nation in a political vacuum that is likely to worsen its historic economic meltdown.
As Aoun’s term ends, the country is being run by a caretaker government after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati failed to form a new Cabinet following May 15 parliamentary elections.
In a speech outside the palace, Aoun told thousands of supporters that he has accepted the resignation of Mikati's government.
Lebanese are deeply divided over Aoun, with some seeing him as a defender of the country’s Christian community and a leading figure who tried to seriously fight corruption in Lebanon. However, he is criticized by his opponents for supporting "Hezbollah" and helping the group gain power.
“I leave a country that is robbed,” Aoun said, adding that all Lebanese were hurt by losing their life savings in local banks. He added that some politicians prevented the investigation into the port blast.
Aoun, who blamed his political rivals and others for the crisis except for members of his political party, later left the palace and headed to his residence in Beirut's northern suburb of Rabieh.
Aoun's biggest achievement came last week. He signed a US-mediated maritime border agreement with Israel that Beirut hopes will lead to gas exploration in the Mediterranean, The Associated Press reported.
Parliament has held four sessions since late September to elect a president but no candidate was able to get the two-thirds majority of the vote needed. As in previous votes, parliamentary blocs will have to agree on a consensus candidate for the country’s top post as no alliance within the legislature controls majority seats.
Aoun himself was elected in 2016 after a more than two-year vacuum. Despite Hezbollah’s support then, Aoun was only elected after he received the backing of the bloc of his main rivals of the Christian Lebanese Forces Party as well as the bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
