Former Education Minister Hassan Diab is expected to be named Lebanon's new prime minister, according to political sources.
The former education minister is reportedly supported by the Christian parties of Free Patriotic Movement and Marada Movement, as well as by the Shia parties of Hezbollah and Amal Movement.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun is set to hold official consultations throughout the day with 128 lawmakers regarding their choice for the PM position. The president must appoint the candidate who receives the greatest support.
It is worth mentioning that, the Lebanese presidency announced earlier this week that it has postponed the consultations which aim at assigning a new prime minister to form the government – to be resumed Thursday.
The decision came, as noted in an official statement, upon a request of Saad Al-Hariri, the caretaker prime minister who, according to rumors was expected to be assigned again to head the government.
The Lebanese Presidency said in the statement that Al-Hariri asked, in a telephone call with President Michel Aoun, to postpone the consultations that were expected to take place “for further consultations on the issue of forming the new government.”
Al-Hariri resigned from the prime minister office on October 29 amid tense protests against the political elite, which has been marred by corruption and misrule over decades.
Despite the measure being scrapped, Hariri and his cabinet being dismissed, Lebanese people have remained in the streets to demand economic reforms, specifically in the banking sector.
Earlier, Al-Hariri had set a condition that he only returns as prime minister over cabinet which is composed of technocrats, believing that this is the only way to calm protests down and get them satisfied, but also allow the government to tackle the crisis and receive foreign aid.
The protests in Lebanon began on 17 October after the government said it would introduce a tax on internet calls made via the WhatsApp messenger.
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