Lebanon's PM-designate Hariri seeks 'national accord' government

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said Thursday that he will be seeking to form a “national accord” government quickly, saying one of its main tasks would be to agree on a “just” electoral law and hold parliamentary elections on time.

“I look forward to starting the consultations to form a national accord government that overcomes political divisions and is based on a consensus of all the political factions on the inaugural speech with all of its provisions,” Hariri said after being summoned by President Michel Aoun to the Baabda Presidential Palace.

Hariri said he will be open to all parliamentary blocs, including those that did not nominate him, expressing hope that the new government will be able to address the socio-economic, environmental, security and political crises of Lebanon.

"We owe it to Lebanon to start working as soon as possible to protect our country from the fires burning around it, to reinforce its immunity in the face of terrorism, to help it deal with difficulty of the refugee crisis," Hariri added.

Hariri was designated PM after Aoun ended binding consultations with all of Lebanon's parliamentary blocs, which witnessed overwhelming support for the Future Movement leader.

(The Daily Star)- The former PM garnered the support of 110 MPs of the 128-member legislature during the two-day talks.

Speaker Nabih Berri wrapped up the consultations, announcing his bloc’s backing for Hariri. Support from the 13-member Development and Liberation bloc for Hariri secures Shiite backing, after Hezbollah’s 13-member Loyalty to the Resistance bloc abstained from nominating him earlier in the day.

"I am in Hariri's debt. ... I decided along with the Development and Liberation bloc, to which I belong, to pay this debt to name Hariri [as premier]," Berri told reporters after meeting with Aoun.

In a widely expected move, Hezbollah’s bloc did not name Hariri for PM, due to long-standing political differences between the two sides over the party’s arsenal and its deep involvement in the 5-year-old war in Syria.

Although they did not officially nominate Hariri, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said last month he would not be opposed to Hariri returning to the premiership.

Aoun also met with the Armenian MPs’ bloc and a number of independent lawmakers, who named Hariri as their choice for PM.

These included MPs Robert Ghanem, Dory Chamoun, Nicolas Fattoush, Ahmad Fatfat, Mohammad Safadi and Imad Hout from the Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya bloc.

On Wednesday, Hariri had already garnered the support of 86 MPs, or two-thirds of the 128-member legislature, out of the 90 lawmakers polled by the newly elected president. By the end of Thursday’s talks he had the support of 110 MPs.

Hariri's nomination of Aoun last month guaranteed the latter's election as president, who won with an absolute majority in Monday's vote. The move appeared to be part of a deal which saw Hariri secure Aoun's support for the Future head's premiership.