Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and ICJ Chief Justice Nawaf Salam are seen as front-runners.

Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun has begun binding consultations with members of parliament to nominate a prime minister.

Aoun’s consultations began at 8:15 am (06:15 GMT) on Monday with a meeting with deputy speaker of parliament Elias Abu Saab, the official state news agency reported.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is backed by the Hezbollah-led coalition, and Judge Nawaf Salam, the presiding judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, are considered the front-runners. .

Negotiations are as follows Aoun’s election last week It comes amid foreign pressure to form a government urgently needed to address the country’s major challenges.

Lebanon, which has been without a president since October 2022 and is run by a caretaker government, is facing a severe economic crisis compounded by an all-out war between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel.

The results of parliamentary consultations are expected to be announced by the end of today. Once a prime minister is chosen, their job is to form a new government, a process that can take months.

“Newly elected President Aoun said he wants the next prime minister to be a partner, not an opponent,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Koder reported from the Lebanese capital Beirut. “Someone who has the support of the international community and who is ready to carry out much-needed reforms.”

huge challenge

Lebanon has a unique power-sharing system designed to balance power between different communities across the country.

The president must be a Maronite Christian and serves as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The prime minister, meanwhile, must be a Sunni Muslim and has far greater executive powers than the president.

The Speaker of Parliament, who presides over parliamentary debates and plays the role of political mediator, must be a Shia Muslim.

Mikati is one of the richest people in the country Already led the country in a caretaker capacity throughout the presidential vacuum.

Mikati said on the sidelines of Thursday’s presidential election that he was ready to serve Lebanon “if needed.”

Hezbollah’s opponents, however, view Mikati as part of an old political system under the group’s control.

Whoever leads Lebanon’s new government will face significant challenges, including implementing reforms to meet the demands of international donors amid the worst economic crisis in the country’s history.

They will also face the daunting task of rebuilding large swaths of the country after Israel’s war with Hezbollah and enforcing the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, which includes the thorny issue of disarming Lebanese armed groups.