Lebanese president asks professor to form government
Lebanese president asks professor to form government
(32 minutes later)
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s president has asked a university professor and a Hezbollah-backed former minister to form new government, breaking a weeks-long impasse.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s president Thursday asked a university professor and a Hezbollah-backed former minister to form a new government, breaking a weeks-long impasse.
Michel Aoun named Hassan Diab as prime minister after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority of the 128-member parliament.
Michel Aoun named Hassan Diab as prime minister after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority of the 128-member parliament. Sixty-nine lawmakers, including the parliamentary bloc of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements as well as lawmakers affiliated with President Michel Aoun gave him their votes.
Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. He also failed to get the support of the country’s major Sunni leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, which will make it difficult for him to form a new government.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Diab arrived at Baabda palace later Thursday to meet with Aoun who summoned him for the appointment.
A university professor and former minister received the backing of the Hezbollah group and its allies Thursday, making him the likely candidate to be appointed Lebanon’s new prime minister.
It was not immediately clear whether the appointment would satisfy people in the streets who have been protesting for over two months, calling for a government made up of specialists.
The emergence of Hassan Diab as a possible candidate comes amid the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
The backing by the Iran-backed group guarantees a thorny path for any candidate, potentially inviting push-back from Western and Gulf nations, which had supported the outgoing Hariri. A new prime minister also faces a mammoth task amid mass protests that have recently taken a violent turn.
Diab, who served as education minister in 2011, gained attention after caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri withdrew his name from consideration following weeks of haggling and deep divisions between the various factions over naming him again. Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 in response to unprecedented mass protests against the entire political class while an already dire economic crisis was quickly deteriorating.
Since then, efforts to agree on a new prime minister and the shape of government have kept hitting a dead end. Hariri, who is aligned with the West and Gulf countries, has insisted he would head a Cabinet made up of specialists to deal with the economic and financial crisis — a key demand of the protest movement — while the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which initially backed him, has demanded a government that includes all major political factions.
On Thursday, Hezbollah said it backs Diab for prime minister. Mohammed Raad, the spokesman for the group’s parliamentary bloc, said he hopes Diab receives enough votes and for him to “succeed in his national duties,” and vowed to cooperate in tackling the current crisis.
Binding consultations between President Michel Aoun and representatives of the 128-member parliament were delayed twice as Lebanon saw some of the worst violence since protests erupted in mid-October. The clashes have involved security forces and anti-government protesters, as well as supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shiite groups, Hezbollah and Amal.
On Thursday, Aoun was expected to name Diab at the conclusion of the long-delayed talks with the heads of parliamentary blocs. For a nomination, he needs the backing of a simple majority of lawmakers. By early afternoon, at least 39 lawmakers had abstained from naming a candidate, including Hariri’s 18-member bloc and a main Christian party. At least 25 lawmakers backed Diab, including the powerful Hezbollah bloc. Its ally, the Shiite Amal movement headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, as well as Aoun’s bloc in parliament, are expected to also back Diab.
A dozen lawmakers named Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s former U.N. ambassador who is currently a judge on the International Court of Justice, as a potential candidate.
In Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system, the prime minister has to be from the Sunni Muslim community.
However, it was clear that Diab would not have the crucial backing of Hariri and other major Sunni figureheads in the country and would face huge challenges in forming an inclusive new government able to secure financial aid from the West.
“May God make everyone successful,” Hariri told reporters after briefly meeting with Aoun on Thursday ahead of the consultations.
Diab, 60, a professor of computer engineering, served in the government formed in 2011 when Hezbollah and its allies overturned a former Cabinet headed by Hariri. He was education minister for three years.
The international community has made the formation of a serious, reform-minded government a condition for releasing assistance to the country. On Thursday, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale was expected to visit Beirut, the most senior foreign diplomat to visit the country since the crisis. U.S. diplomats have said they support the quick formation of a government that can effectuate reform.
Protesters in the streets have said they want new faces to govern Lebanon, one of the world’s most indebted countries.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
