Lebanon to start talks for new prime minister on June 23

Forming a new government may still take months as political factions jockey over nominations and potential cabinet appointments

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  An electoral worker sits next to ballot boxes, at the Justice Palace, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  A soldier stands guard as ballots are counted at the Justice Palace. Reuters

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  Jad Ghosn, an opposition candidate, gestures as people wait for the announcement of official election results, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announces the final results for some districts. EPA

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  Opposition candidate Yassin Yassin gestures as he is greeted by supporters in Jeb Jennin, West Bekaa. Reuters

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  Supporters of the Lebanese Forces take to the streets during parliamentary elections in the Ashrafieh district of Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanon headed to the polls with its economy in the grip of hyperinflation. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese youths supporting Hezbollah and Amal movement wave their party flags after parliamentary elections in a suburb of Beirut. EPA

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  Supporters of Lebanon's Shiite groups Hezbollah and Amal lift their flags during a motorbike rally after voting. AFP

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  Children swim in an inflatable pool that supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri installed to illustrate their intention to boycott parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo

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  Voters queue to place their vote in parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

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  Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, stands in a polling booth to vote in Tebnin. Reuters

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  Voters register at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, follows the parliamentary elections on screens from the presidency palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

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  A Lebanese woman shows her inked finger after she cast her vote at a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  Voters look at a list of candidates at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese policemen help a voter into a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  A Lebanese voter casts her ballot paper in Beirut. EPA

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  Gyorgy Holvenyi (R), chief observer of the European Union election observation mission, visits a polling station in Beirut. EPA

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  Lebanese people wait to vote during parliamentary elections in the capital city. EPA

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  Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Grand Mufti of Lebanon, casts his ballot paper during parliamentary elections in Beirut. EPA

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  People queue to cast their votes in the Lebanese capital. AP

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  Posters in Al Tariq Al Jadida, Beirut, depict Lebanon’s former prime minister Saad Hariri. Reuters

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  A woman prepares her ballot at a polling station in a southern suburb of Beirut. AFP

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  Former prime minister Hassan Diab, who succeeded Saad Hariri, casts his ballot in Beirut. AFP

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  A voter checks lists for the parliamentary election at a polling station in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP

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  A woman waits to vote in Beirut. EPA

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  Security forces stand guard at Nur Square on the southern entrance of the northern Lebanese port city Tripoli. AFP

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  Former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election, in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Reuters

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  A man check voters' lists in the capital Beirut. AP

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  A woman votes in Lebanon's parliamentary elections in Beirut. AP

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  Police check the ID of voters outside a polling station near the Lebanese coastal city of Byblos (Jbeil), north of Beirut. AFP

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  A voter dips her finger in ink after casting her ballot in the parliamentary election at a polling station near Byblos. AFP

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  A Lebanese woman shows her ink-marked thumb after voting in Shmustar, Bekaa valley. EPA

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  People queueing to vote at Ras El Nabeh Public School for Girls. Fatima Al Mahmoud/ The National

Binding consultations with members of Lebanon's recently elected parliament to nominate a new prime minister are set to start on June 23, the presidency said on Wednesday.

Consultations with Lebanon’s 128 MPs will take place at the president's Baabda Palace outside Beirut.

President Michel Aoun is scheduled to start with a mid-morning one-on-one meeting with Deputy Parliament Speaker Elias Abou Saab, Baabda said.

Mr Aoun will then spend fifteen minutes with each of the parliament’s 13 political blocs where representatives of each bloc will put forward their nominations.

The new prime minister will be selected based on the consensus of these nominations and must then form a government, a process that often takes months.

Analysts previously told The National that they expect caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati to be chosen again.

A three-time prime minister who made a fortune in the telecom sector, Mr Mikati is a consensual figure who reputedly enjoys good relations with most political parties.

Mr Mikati's main rival, also several-time prime minister Saad Hariri, announced his withdrawal from political life on January 22 and declined to run in May’s parliamentary election.

Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system dictates that the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, the President a Maronite Christian and the Parliament speaker Shiite Muslim.

Lebanon needs a new government to push forward difficult reforms requested by the IMF for a bail-out.

The country's political class has been unable to address its worsening economic crisis which started in 2019 and has pushed nearly three-quarters of the population into poverty.