Aoun leaves Lebanon presidential palace in style as term ends

SMA NEWS – BEIRUT
A convoy accompanied President Michel Aoun as he left for his home in Rabieh on Sunday, ending his six-year term.
Hundreds of supporters of Lebanese Aoun on Saturday set up tents around the presidential palace and settled in for an overnight stay as they prepared to give the controversial leader a colorful send-off.
The Free Patriotic Movement, the party founded by Aoun in 2005, set up dozens of tents in woods surrounding the presidential palace so supporters could camp out and farewell their leader in style.
The FPM decided to make Aoun’s departure a colorful affair despite controversies accompanying the end of his term and parliament’s failure to elect a successor during the two-month constitutional deadline.
Aoun took office six years ago after a presidential vacuum lasting more than two years, and will leave his post on Monday without handing over the position to a successor.
In both cases, the vacuum resulted from Aoun’s insistence, firstly, on becoming president and then leaving the position to a member of his entourage.
In one of his farewell interviews, Aoun told Reuters that US sanctions would not stop his son-in-law and FPM head Gebran Bassil from becoming a presidential candidate.
“Once he’s elected as president, the sanctions will go away,” Aoun said.
The US sanctioned Bassil, a Hezbollah ally, over corruption in November 2020.
Aoun warned of constitutional chaos after his departure under a caretaker government with incomplete powers, saying: “Hezbollah’s role was useful as a deterrent in the indirect negotiations to demarcate the maritime border with Israel.”
Presidential spokesman Rafic Chlala said: “The official ceremonies for Aoun’s departure from the presidential palace begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, while the popular celebrations will begin at 11:30.”
The FPM is organizing the celebrations under the slogan “We’ll stay with you,” as Bassil called on his supporters and friends to accompany Aoun “proudly.”