2023 in review: Lebanon reels from void, threat of Hezbollah-Israel front
As the country struggled with political and economic crises, border skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah raised the specter of war.
BEIRUT — Lebanon will enter 2024 without a president, already into the second year, and no functioning government amid deepening political and economic crises worsened by escalating violence between the Israeli military and the heavily-armed Hezbollah militia along its southern border.
The presidential vacuum occurred in October 2022, when President Michel Aoun’s term expired without a replacement. The top post remains vacant after 12 failed parliament sessions to elect a new head of state.
Political paralysis
Under Lebanon's long-standing sectarian power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian. The main contenders for the post at year's end were Suleiman Frangieh, a close friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, former Finance Minister Jihad Azour and independent politician Michel Moawad.
