Lebanese President Joseph Aoun begins consultations for the election of the prime minister Government news

Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati and senior ICJ judge Nawaf Salam appear to be the frontrunners.

Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, has begun mandatory consultations with members of parliament to nominate a candidate for prime minister.

According to the official National News Agency, Aoun’s consultations began at 8:15 a.m. (06:15 GMT) on Monday with a meeting with Deputy Speaker Elias Abu Saab.

Interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati, backed by the Hezbollah-led alliance, and Nawaf Salam, a favorite of anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who preside at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, appear to be the frontrunners. .

Consultations are ongoing Aoun’s election last week in the face of external pressure to form a much-needed government to solve the country’s major problems.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, governed by an interim government amid a crushing economic crisis accompanied by an all-out war between Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Israel.

The results of the parliamentary deliberations are expected to be released by the end of the day. Once the prime minister is elected, it is their job to form a new government, a process that can take months.

“President-elect Aoun said he hopes the next prime minister will be a partner, not a rival,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut, Lebanon. “A person who has the support of the international community and is ready to implement much-needed reforms.”

Big problems

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, acts as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Meanwhile, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and wield significantly more executive power than the president.

The speaker of the parliament, who leads the parliamentary debates and also plays the role of a political mediator, must be a Shia Muslim.

Mikati, one of the richest men in the country led the country in the caretaker role throughout the presidential vacancy.

Mikati said on Thursday that he was ready to serve Lebanon “if needed” on the sidelines of the presidential election.

However, Hezbollah’s opponents see Mikati as part of the old political system in the hands of the group.

Whoever leads Lebanon’s new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the worst economic crisis in the country’s history.

They will also face the difficult task of implementing the November 27 ceasefire agreement, which includes the difficult issue of rebuilding the country’s territories after the Israel-Hezbollah war and disarming the Lebanese armed group.