Former-PM Saad Hariri does not plan on backing out from running as Lebanon’s next prime minister, despite the emergence of difficulties surrounding his nomination.
The session for parliamentary consultations to designate a new prime minister was scheduled for Thursday, October 15th. However, President Aoun postponed them at the last minute.
The postponement came after both the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement expressed strong reservations against Hariri’s possible premiership. According to MP Assem Araji, Aoun delayed the session to block Hariri from being designated.
“President Aoun postponed the binding parliamentary consultations at the request of Gebran Bassil, who had declared that he will not nominate Hariri for the premiership,” Araji issued.
Hariri, who was expected to be designated on Thursday, is considered to be Lebanon’s “last chance” at attaining the French initiative which is the closest thing to reversing the economic crash and fixing the country.
“Today, more than ever, he is clinging to the French initiative, seeing as it is the only chance to halt the collapse in the country and rebuild what was destroyed by the port explosion,” said LBCI TV, quoting a source close to Hariri.
“The postponement of consultations is nothing but a postponement of the initiative,” added the source.
Hariri’s interest in running for premiership once again comes almost a year after he resigned following the demands of the October 17 Revolution, which is marking its anniversary this weekend with several events in Lebanon and the diaspora to assert that the uprising of the people continues.
The consultations have been re-scheduled for October 22nd. If Hariri is designated, it would be his fourth time as prime minister.
