BEIRUT — Parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister-designate will be held on July 26, President Michel Aoun said in a statement Monday, less than a week after Premier-designate Saad Hariri resigned from the role of forming a new cabinet.
Starting at 10:30 a.m. on Monday July 26, Aoun will kick off consultations by holding individual meetings with former prime ministers Najib Mikati, Tamam Salam and Hariri. Aoun will then hold separate meetings with Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs, including Hariri’s Future Movement bloc, Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc and MP Gebran Bassil’s Strong Lebanon bloc.
Hariri stepped down on Thursday after nine months in the role and after having failed to agree a cabinet lineup with Aoun. Hariri contended the president derailed formation efforts by refusing to relinquish his demand for a “blocking third,” or effective veto power.
In a televised interview with Al Jadeed following his resignation, Hariri said that his Future Movement parliamentary bloc will not put forward a nominee in the upcoming consultations.
There is currently no obvious candidate to replace Hariri, a three-time former premier.