Lebanese President Leaves Office Amid Steep Financial Crisis

On Sunday, President Michel Aoun departed the presidential palace a day before the end of his term, leaving Lebanon in a power vacuum amid a steep financial crisis.

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Hundreds of supporters gathered at Baabda Palace to bid farewell to Aoun by chanting slogans and carrying portraits of Aoun, who departed the palace despite the failure of political parties to reach a consensus on the appointment of a new president.

During his farewell ceremony, Aoun confirmed that he had signed a decree approving the resignation of the cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who had been in power since June.

"The decree... lacks any constitutional value," said Mikati, whose government went into interim power after May's parliamentary elections.

If the presidential decree is actually fulfilled, Lebanon would be left without a cabinet of ministers and without a head of state simultaneously.

"We wait until the last moment to send this message to complete the procedures urgently, so that the Council elects a president or forms a government in the remaining two days and avoids the abyss of falling," Aoun told Parliament, according to the local press.

Currently, Lebanon needs a new president who can negotiate with parliament members on appointing a new prime minister to form a cabinet capable of implementing necessary reforms to save the country from its multiple crises.