Outgoing Lebanese PM withdraws candidacy for premiership

Saad Hariri, who resigned nearly a month ago in response to mass protests, says he hopes to clear the way for a solution to country’s political impasse

BEIRUT — Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday withdrew his candidacy for the premiership, saying he hoped to clear the way for a solution to the political impasse amid weeks of anti-government protests.

He resigned nearly a month ago in response to mass protests ignited by a severe financial crisis. His resignation met a key demand of Lebanon’s anti-government protesters but plunged the country into uncertainty, with no clear path to resolving its economic and political problems.

Politicians have failed to agree on the shape and form of a new government, with Hariri insisting on heading a government of technocrats, while his opponents, including the militant group Hezbollah, are insisting on a Cabinet made up of both experts and politicians.

In a statement issued by his office, Hariri called on President Michel Aoun to quickly hold consultations with the heads of parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. He insisted that a new government made up of experts is needed to get Lebanon out of its crisis and “respond to the aspirations of the young men and women” who have been protesting in the streets.

Riot police scuffle with anti-government protesters blocking a road in Beirut, Lebanon, November 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

He also indirectly criticized Aoun for holding him responsible for the delay in government formation.

The Western-backed Hariri had served in a national unity government dominated by rival factions allied with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, whose supporters have attacked protesters repeatedly in the past few weeks.

There was no immediate response to Hariri’s statement by Aoun or Hezbollah. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said he wants Hariri to stay on as prime minister.

Under the constitution, Aoun must hold binding consultations with the heads of parliamentary blocs to ask them for their choice of a new prime minister. He has held back on calling for such consultations so far, pending an agreement among factions on a prime minister.

According to Lebanon’s power-sharing confessional system, the president is a Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker is a Shiite.