BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began consultations with lawmakers on Monday to nominate a prime minister in what political sources say is a tight race between incumbent Najib Mikati and International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam.
The prime minister’s designation is the next step in forming a new administration after Aoun’s election to the vacant presidency, reflecting a shift in the balance of power since Hezbollah was hit in the war last year with Israel and its Syrian ally Bashar al. -Assad has been overthrown.
Aoun, who enjoys the support of the United States and Saudi Arabia, must nominate the candidate with the most support among the 128 MPs in Parliament.
The result should be known by the end of the day.
The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim under Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system that distributes state posts based on religious affiliation, with the presidency going to a Maronite Christian.
Mikati is a billionaire businessman who served as prime minister four times. Lawmakers from groups such as the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its ally the Shiite Amal movement are expected to declare their support for him remaining in office, political sources said.
Salam, who has been president of the ICJ since last February and Lebanon’s former ambassador to the United Nations, enjoys the support of factions including the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces, a leading Christian party.
The votes of another Christian party, the Free Patriotic Current led by Gebran Bassil, and Lebanon’s main Druze faction, the Progressive Socialist Party led by the Jumblatt family, are expected to prove decisive.
Before last week’s presidential vote, Saudi Arabia strongly encouraged Aoun’s election, according to Lebanese politicians, marking a resurgence of Saudi influence in Lebanon, eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah.
But Lebanese political sources said Riyadh had not expressed any preference over the appointment of the new prime minister.
US President Joe Biden praised Aoun’s election last week, saying lawmakers had “chosen a path aligned with peace, security, sovereignty and reconstruction, in partnership with the international community.”
STEPS TO RELAUNCH GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
Aoun’s election and the appointment of a new prime minister are steps toward reviving Lebanon’s government institutions that have been paralyzed for more than two years, with the country lacking a fully empowered head of state or cabinet.
The new administration faces tasks including rebuilding areas razed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hezbollah and launching long-stalled reforms to revive the economy and address the root causes of the collapse of the Lebanese financial system in 2019.
In his former role as commander of the U.S.-backed army, Aoun played a critical role in implementing a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.
Conditions require the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw their forces.
