Escalation of Lebanon Crisis as Parliament Fails to Elect President

Lebanon's financial crisis worsened on Wednesday following the opposition of Hezbollah and its allies to the election of a senior International Monetary Fund official as the country's president. This has also intensified sectarian tensions and weakened hopes for the revival of Lebanon's collapsing government. According to Reuters, four years into Lebanon's severe financial crisis, the country's parliament failed for the twelfth time on Wednesday to elect a president. According to law, the president of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian. This is the worst financial crisis Lebanon has faced since its civil war (1975-1990). Lawmakers from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militant group, and its allies, including the Shiite Amal Movement, walked out of the session to prevent the main Christian parties' efforts to elect Jihad Azour, an IMF official, as president from succeeding. This has created a sectarian rift between Hezbollah and Christians, including Gebran Bassil, one of Hezbollah's main Christian allies, who has supported Azour's election as president alongside anti-Hezbollah Christian factions. Azour, the IMF's Middle East director and former Lebanese finance minister, garnered the support of 59 lawmakers in the initial voting of 128, which is less than the two-thirds majority needed for victory in the first round. Suleiman Frangieh, who is backed by Hezbollah and its allies, received 51 votes. Additionally, the IMF has warned of a 'deep crisis' in Lebanon's economy.