June 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The current acting Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nayib Mikati, who started out as the main favorite to revalidate the position, has finally been elected with 54 votes in favor compared to the 24 obtained by his main opponent, Nauaf Salam, former Lebanese ambassador to the UN and Judge in the Court of Justice.
According to ‘L’Orient Le Jour’, of the total votes, 127, there have been 47 blank, one for the candidate Raua Hallab and another for the former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who tried for months to assemble an Executive and finally resigned between tensions with the president, Michel Aoun, to abandon politics.
Previously, 72 parliamentarians had already sent President Aoun their recommendation for the appointment, 31 of whom had supported Mikati, while fourteen backed Nauaf Salam and 26 preferred not to support any candidate.
For their part, the 19 Lebanese Forces parliamentarians have chosen not to support any candidate, while Nauaf’s support includes the eight parliamentarians from the block of the leader of the Lebanese Druze community, Ualid Jumblat, and four from the Lebanese Falange.
Mikati, who was already the favorite before the election, does not have the support of the country’s two main Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) of Aoun and the Lebanese Forces.
In his acceptance speech, he pointed out that there is a great challenge ahead due to the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as the increase in electricity prices.
“Let us all collaborate today to save our homeland and get our people out of what is tottering in it, because the responsibility to save it is a collective responsibility and not an individual responsibility,” he stressed in a statement.
Mikati was appointed Prime Minister in September 2021 after thirteen months of political blockade after the resignation of Hasan Diab following the explosions on August 4, 2020 in the port of the capital, Beirut, which left more than 200 dead and huge material damage.
Before his appointment, Mustafa Adib received the commission, who resigned a month later due to his inability to form a government, and also former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who tried for months to assemble an Executive and finally resigned amid tensions with Aoun to leave politics.
The May parliamentarians ended with a setback for Hezbollah and its allies, who lost the absolute majority in the legislative body, while they gave a boost to the leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, and to numerous independent candidates who won seats.
The elections were considered key to the future of the country, mired in a very serious political and economic crisis aggravated by the explosions in the port of Beirut and the coronavirus pandemic, which have left part of the population mired in poverty and facing cuts. electricity and the increase in the prices of basic products.
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