Lebanon's Aoun says he will leave Baabda Palace on October 31

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Lebanese President Michel Aoun confirmed that the parliamentary majority that will emerge from the ballot boxes in the upcoming parliamentary elections will be influential in drawing the direction of the presidential elections in months.

In an interview for Al-Jumhuriya, Aoun expressed his surprise at the organized and suspicious promotion of the difficulty of forming a new government after May 15 and holding Presidential elections on time. He considered that circulating this is far from being innocent because it suggests that some want to set the stage for a power vacuum.

Aoun confirmed that he will leave Baabda Palace on October 31, and said he will not remain for a moment after his term ends.

"If it is not possible for any reason to elect a new president, the government will take over the administration of the country in the transitional phase, and if this is not possible, then in the worst case scenario, a new government will be formed after the parliamentary elections," Aoun said.

The President disclosed that after October 31, matters will be entrusted to the caretaker government, even if it will have limited powers.

In response to a question about his candidate for the presidency, specifically the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Representative Gibran Bassil, Aoun said he has no presidential candidate.

As for Gibran Bassil, Aoun described him as a patriot with high morals, who survived a political assassination attempt thanks to his steadfastness.

It is noteworthy that the first round of expatriate voting in the legislative elections took place last Friday in 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, and Syria, while the second phase of the Lebanese expatriate voting took place on Sunday, in 48 countries, with the participation of 194,348 Lebanese expatriates, according to the official Lebanese News Agency.

The elections will be held in the country on 15 May. 103 electoral lists are competing in the elections, comprising 718 candidates distributed over 15 electoral districts to select 128 deputies in Parliament.

As for the presidential elections in Lebanon, they are scheduled for 2023.