The president of Lebanon tasks Nawaf Salam with forming a government as the new prime minister

The new president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, tasked this Monday the president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nawaf Salam, with forming a government as the country’s new prime minister after a round of consultations in which the jurist has obtained more support than the current interim head of the Executive, Nayib Mikati.

Salam, president of the ICJ since 2017, would have the support of 84 deputies compared to Mikati who has only attracted nine supports, while another 35 deputies are inclined to vote blank, most of them from the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, as reported by the newspaper ‘L’Orient-Le Jour’.

In the last few hours, Aoun had carried out a round of contacts with parliamentarians to elect a new prime minister. Salam, who was Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN for ten years, was emerging as a possible successor to Mikati.

The outgoing prime minister has contacted Salam to wish him luck in forming a new government that “lives up” to the objectives set by President Aoun, his office said in a statement.

“It is true that the challenges we have faced have been great, but the will of our people is stronger and our unity and resilience are our salvation. Just as we have overcome wars and crises together, together we will rise again,” has highlighted.

Aoun was elected on January 9 amid complaints about a possible violation of the Constitution as he was still at the head of the Armed Forces. The Magna Carta prevented the election as president of any person who had held a position of responsibility during the previous two years.

The vote went ahead after twelve failed attempts due to the legislative blockade between the blocs led by Hezbollah and its opponents, which has finally been broken in the midst of the ceasefire agreed at the end of November with Israel and in the face of international pressure to end it. to the void in the Presidency, considered key to getting the country out of the deep economic and social crisis in which it has found itself for years.