The first round of parliamentary consultations conducted by the new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to assign a figure to form the first government of his reign ended before noon on Monday.
Political sources told Al Jazeera that the head of the International Court of Justice, Judge Nawaf Salam, received the support of a sufficient number of Lebanese representatives to choose him for the position of prime minister.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Taymour Jumblatt, announced that his party had nominated Nawaf Salam to head the Lebanese government, and the “head of the Free Patriotic Movement” also announced his support for Salam’s nomination for the position.
The reporter added, quoting the Lebanese presidency, confirming that the date of the “Hezbollah” parliamentary bloc to nominate a prime minister stands today, after reports that it had been postponed after it became clear that another candidate would gain greater support among representatives, which is Nawaf Salam.
A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse that the party and its ally, the Amal Movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, support the reassignment of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to head the government.
He explained that renaming Mikati “is part of the agreement reached with the Saudi envoy to Lebanon, Yazid bin Muhammad bin Fahd Al Farhan, which led to Hezbollah moving forward and hoping for Aoun to be elected president” last Thursday.
Mikati, who previously headed three governments in Lebanon and is considered one of the richest people in Lebanon, denied the existence of any agreement. He said on the sidelines of the president’s election session that he was ready “if there is any necessity” to “serve the country.”
Consultations
Aoun received 21 independent representatives in the presidential palace east of the capital, Beirut, to learn about their nominations. The official Lebanese News Agency reported that Judge Nawaf Salam received 12 votes, compared to 7 for Mikati, while one vote was recorded as no candidate.
In a precedent, MP Jamil al-Sayyid said after his meeting with Aoun, “If the votes are equal between Mikati and Salam, my vote will be for Mikati, and if the votes are not equal, I will not vote for anyone.”
Aoun will receive independent representatives and parliamentary blocs separately today, then announce the name of the prime minister who received the largest number of nominations.
Both Mikati and Salam are competing for the presidency of the government, while MP Fouad Makhzoumi announced, via the (X) platform on Monday, his withdrawal from the candidacy, attributing his decision to the fact that “the presence of more than one opposition candidate will lead (…) to the loss of everyone, and Lebanon needs a radical change in Governance approach.
He continued that his withdrawal aims to pave the way for consensus, among everyone who believes in the necessity of change, regarding the name of Judge Nawaf Salam, in the face of what he called the system’s candidate (meaning Mikati).
Parliamentary consultations regarding choosing the Prime Minister are a constitutional process conducted by the President of the country in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution. These consultations take place after the government’s resignation or the end of its term, as the country’s president invites the parliamentary blocs and independent representatives to meet with them separately, and asks them to nominate a candidate to head the government.
-Although the consultations are mandatory, the president is not bound by their results, but he often adheres to the majority’s choice. The government formation phase will then begin, which may take a long time, given the political and sectarian complexities in Lebanon.
It is customary in Lebanon for a Sunni Muslim to assume the prime ministership, the presidency of the republic to be held by a Maronite Christian, and the presidency of the House of Representatives to be held by a Shiite Muslim.
After a vacancy that lasted for more than two years due to political disputes, Parliament on Thursday elected Aoun as president of the country by a majority of 99 deputies out of 128.
Before his election as president, Aoun had been army commander since 2017, and became the fifth army commander in the history of Lebanon to assume the presidency of the republic, the fourth in succession, and the 14th president of the country overall.
Aoun’s election came after a devastating war launched by Israel between September 23 and November 27 against Lebanon, which suffers from political divisions and deteriorating economic conditions.
Who is Nawaf Salam?
Nawaf Salam’s name has returned to strong circulation as a prominent candidate to head the Lebanese government, after the House of Representatives elected, last Thursday, Army Commander Joseph Aoun as president of the country.
Nawaf Salam was born on December 15, 1953 in Beirut to a well-known political family. His uncle, Saeb Salam, headed the Lebanese government 4 times.
He holds a postgraduate diploma in social sciences from Paris and a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne. He also holds a master’s degree in law from Harvard University and a doctorate in political sciences from Paris.
He began his career in the field of law in 1984 as an appellate lawyer in Beirut and worked in the American city of Boston as a legal representative for a number of international institutions.
He worked as a lecturer at the Sorbonne, Harvard, Columbia, the International Peace Institute in New York, Yale Law School, the German University of Freiburg, and Boston University.
- In 2005, the Lebanese Council of Ministers appointed him as a member and rapporteur of the National Commission for Election Law Reform.
- Ambassador and representative of Lebanon to the United Nations between 2007 and 2017 and its representative in the Security Council.
- Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2016 and 2018.
- Salam was elected President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in February 2024
