Lebanese president Michel Sleiman wrapped up his parliamentary consultations on the second consecutive day and officially designated MP Saad Hariri to be next Lebanese Prime Minister and tasked him with forming his first-ever government after he received 86 votes of approval by MPs and 42 others refrained to name anyone.
“According to the constitution and after the president consulted with the speaker of parliament and parliamentarians, he (Lebanese President Michel Sleiman) summoned Saad Hariri and tasked him with forming a new government,” a presidential statement said.

This would be Hariri’s first designation to the premiership following the June 7 legislative elections in which the March 14 coalition won 71 out of the 128 seats in parliament

After his appointment, Prime Minister-designate Hariri vowed to form a homogeneous and consensus government that is able to function away from obstruction. We “will safeguard the constitution, institutions, sovereignty, independence and the project of the building of the Lebanese state,” he told reporters at Baabda Palace.

He vowed to form a “homogeneous” and “consensus” government that is able to remain united and “make achievements away from obstruction” in cooperation with the president.

Hariri also promised to keep strife and “foreign and economic” danger away from Lebanon.

As soon as the consultations wrapped up, Speaker Nabih Berri arrived to Baabda Palace where he met with President Sleiman who informed him of the consultations’’ results and later Hariri joined them.

For the 2nd consecutive day, President Sleiman continued the consultations where he received in the morning the “Mountain Unity” parliamentary bloc headed by MP Talal Areslan who nominated no one to the PM post. Head of the Marada movement MP Sleiman Franjieh also refrained to nominate anyone for the post.

However, Armenian Consensus parliamentary bloc and the Tripoli Coalition parliamentary bloc, the Lebanese Harmony parliamentary bloc, Tashnaq parliamentary bloc, MP Imad al Hout of the Jamaa Islamia and MPs Tamam Salam, Boutros Harb, Robert Ghanem, Michel Pharaon, Robert Fadel, Ryad Rahal, Dori Chamoun and Nayla Tueni nominated MP Hariri to the premiership.

In the first day of consultations, Hariri got 67 votes from the loyalty bloc as well as the Development and Liberation bloc of Speaker Nabih Berri. 31 MPs representing the Loyalty to the Resistance and the Change and Reform opposition blocs didn’t nominate anyone for the post while stressing they will cooperate with the PM-designate in case he wanted to guarantee real partnership.

On Thursday, Hariri and Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah met for the first time since October to discuss the composition of the next government. “Designating a prime minister and agreeing on the shape of the cabinet are inseparable parts of the same task,” Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem told AFP.

Meanwhile, conflicting scenarios were presented by the parliamentary minority in regards to the composition of the future cabinet.

Informed sources told the Lebanese daily As-Safir that MP Hariri presented his outlook of the new cabinet to Sayyed Nasrallah during their last meeting.

He proposed a cabinet composed of 30 ministers, whereby the parliamentary majority would have 16 ministers, 10 ministers would represent the parliamentary minority and 4 ministers would be designated to the president. The Hezbollah leadership announced that the parliamentary minority continues to hold to obtaining veto power in cabinet, according to As-Safir.

High level and well-informed sources within the Future movement affirmed to the daily that Hariri had indeed presented a formula of 16+10+4 with his political allies prior to meeting Sayyed Nasrallah.

Sources added that his political allies approved Hariri’s proposal since the parliamentary majority continues to reject providing the national opposition with veto power.

As-Safir quoted Christian sources close to the presidency expressing their reservations against the 16+10+4 formula preferring a 15+10+5 equation that would provide the president with 5 rather than 4 ministers in cabinet.

Moreover, the daily al-Akhbar spoke to informed official sources close to the president saying President Sleiman prefers a 14+9+7 formula (14 to the parliamentary majority, 9 to the opposition and 7 ministers to the president).