Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began consultations for the election of the Prime Minister Government news
Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati and ICJ Chief Justice Nawaf Salam are seen as the main contenders.
Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, has begun binding consultations with members of parliament on the appointment of a prime minister.
Aoun’s consultations began at 8:15 a.m. (06:15 GMT) on Monday with a meeting with Elias Abu Saab, deputy speaker of the parliament, according to the official National News Agency.
Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is backed by a Hezbollah-led alliance, and Nawaf Salam, a favorite of anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who is the presiding judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, are seen as the frontrunners.
Consultations follow Aoun’s election last week amid foreign pressure to form a government that is desperately needed to address the country’s major challenges.
Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022 and has been governed by a caretaker government amid a severe economic crisis exacerbated by an all-out war between Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Israel.
It is expected that the outcome of the parliamentary consultations will be known by the end of the day. Once a prime minister is elected, it is their job to form a new government, a process that could take months.
“President-elect Aoun said he hopes the next prime minister will be a partner, not an adversary,” said Al Jazeera reporter Zeina Khodr, reporting from Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. “A man who has the support of the international community and a man who is ready to implement much-needed reforms.”
Big challenges
Lebanon has a unique power-sharing system, designed to balance power among the country’s various communities.
The president, who must be a Maronite Christian, serves as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Meanwhile, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and has significantly more executive powers than the president.
The speaker of the parliament, who leads the parliamentary debates, but also plays the role of a political mediator, must be a Shiite Muslim.
One of the richest men in the country, Mikati is at the head of the state in a caretaker capacity during a presidential vacuum.
Mikati said on the sidelines of Thursday’s presidential election that he was ready to serve Lebanon “if necessary.”
However, Hezbollah’s opponents see Mikati as part of the old political system that the group keeps under its grip.
Whoever heads Lebanon’s new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country’s worst economic crisis in its history.
He will also face the daunting task of rebuilding parts of the country after the war between Israel and Hezbollah and implementing a November 27 ceasefire agreement, which includes the thorny issue of disarming the Lebanese armed group.
