Lebanon President to Conduct Binding Parliamentary Consultations

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Lebanese President Michel Aoun is conducting binding Parliamentary consultations today, Monday, to designate a new Prime Minister, while Lebanese media reports indicated that a parliamentary majority would back Najib Mikati. Additionally, three previous premiers will endorse Mikati to form a new government.

The former premiers, Saad Hariri, Fouad Siniora, and Tammam Salam, announced their endorsement of Mikati following their meetings in Bayt El Wasat to discuss the latest political developments in the country, especially the binding parliamentary consultations to designate a new Prime Minister.

The three former PMs said in a statement that "the Lebanese people are waiting for positive initiatives from everyone, in continuation of the French initiative and Speaker Nabih Berri's initiative to form a government, under the condition of it being harmonious and possessing the confidence of the Lebanese, Arab, and international communities."

"We support the formation of a government that can save Lebanon based on the National Accord Document (the Taef Agreement) and the Lebanese constitution, away from heresy," the statement added.

This comes after Prime Minster-designate Saad Hariri resigned following an 8-month designation that was obstructed by political imbalance.

After the resignation was announced, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that President Macron would host an international conference on Lebanon in August, on the first anniversary of the Beirut blast, to help the Lebanese people who are mired in an unprecedented economic crisis.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab had warned that the country is "days away from a social explosion," as the ongoing fuel, medicine, and power crises in Lebanon are pushing it towards disaster. Diab called on the international community not to punish the Lebanese for what the ‘corrupt’ have committed.