After three rounds of votes, Michel Aoun was finally elected today as the new President of the Lebanese Republic. Aoun won with 83 votes in the last round. Strida Tawk (Geagea) got 1 vote, Myriam Klink got 1 vote and Zorba the Greek got 1 vote as well lol!

Today’s elections end a two years+ vacuum after 45 failed attempts to form a quorum. The reason for that is that more than a third of MPs have intentionally skipped 43 out of the last 45 presidential election sessions.

A lot of people are very optimistic and see change coming our way. I think it’s always good to have elections (even if they were unofficially pre-decided) and I’m looking forward to the long-awaited parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that electoral reform is critical for any meaningful change and I personally doubt that it’s gonna happen anytime soon.

Enjoy the elections, celebrate (or protest) peacefully and stay safe!

El Mouhem Myriam Klink Mabsouta