The President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun begins to consult on the choice of PM | Government Affairs

Prime Minister Najib Mikati and ICJ chief judge Nawaf Salam are seen as frontrunners.

The new President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, has begun consulting with members of parliament to appoint a prime minister.

Aoun's talks began at 8:15am (06:15 GMT) on Monday with a meeting with Elias Abu Saab, the deputy speaker of the parliament, according to the National News Agency.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is backed by a coalition led by Hezbollah, and Nawaf Salam, a favorite of anti-Hezbollah lawmakers who is a presiding judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, are seen as front-runners. .

The talks follow Aoun's election last week amid international pressure to form a much-needed government to tackle the country's biggest challenges.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, governed by a caretaker government amid an economic crisis compounded by the war between the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel.

It is expected that the results of the parliamentary consultation will appear at the end of the day. Once the prime minister is elected, it is their job to form a new government, a process that can take months.

“Newly elected President Aoun said he hopes the next prime minister will be his partner and not his opponent,” said Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Lebanon's capital, Beirut. “A man who has the support of the international community, and a man who is ready to make much needed changes.”

Big challenges

Lebanon has a unique power-sharing system, designed to balance power among the nation's various communities.

The president, who must be a Maronite Christian, serves as head of state and commander-in-chief of the military. Meanwhile, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and has greater executive power than the president.

The speaker of the parliament, who leads the parliamentary debates as well as playing the role of political mediator, must be a Shia Muslim.

One of the richest men in the country, Mikati, has led the country from the position of chairman during the inauguration of the president.

Mikati said on the sidelines of the presidential vote on Thursday that he is ready to work for Lebanon “if necessary”.

However, Hezbollah's opponents see Mikati as part of the group's old political agenda.

Whoever heads Lebanon's new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the worst economic crisis in its history.

They will also face the difficult task of rebuilding the country's regions after Israel's war with Hezbollah and implementing the November 27 ceasefire agreement, which includes the difficult issue of disarming the Lebanese faction.