The awaited parliamentary consultations to designate a new prime minister for Lebanon won’t finally take place on Thursday, October 15th, as planned.
Lebanon’s president just postponed the session for next week, citing requests “from some parliamentary blocs due to difficulties emerging that need to be solved.”
The “difficulties” emerged these past two days with disagreements around Saad Hariri who was expected to be picked as PM during the parliamentary session of October 15th.
Deciding on a prime minister to form a new government is a matter of urgency for Lebanon to tackle its disastrous economic crisis and start the urgent reforms.
However, the political leaders seem only able to agree to disagree as the country plunges into turmoil.
Leaders of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, and the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, expressed their reservations about nominating Hariri.
On Tuesday, Bassil criticized Hariri for seeking to form a government based on his pledge to implement French President Macron’s plan, and Geagea said on Wednesday that his parliamentary bloc will not nominate a new prime minister to fill the post.
Hariri had reportedly pledged to support French President Emmanuel Macron’s roadmap “that could unlock billions of dollars of international aid, conditional on major reforms” as reported by Reuters.
Soon after the presidency announced postponing the consultations, the office of the head of the Amal movement, Nabih Berri, issued a statement opposing any delay.
The parliamentary consultation should now take place on October 22nd, as scheduled by the presidency.
