Report: Hizbullah Has not Named Hariri for Premiership as Yet

Hizbullah has not expressed commitment so far to name al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri for the premiership and the formation of the new government, as speculations believe that it could be keeping it for the last minute, Ad-Diyar daily reported on Saturday.

The daily quoted Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who had urged for a comprehensive agreement and said: “Let a comprehensive agreement with regard to the presidency, premier and the formation of a government be reached.” But the truth is that no one in Hizbullah has named Hariri so far, added Ad-Diyar.

The party might be keeping the issue to the moment when the parliament consultations kick off and a premier is designated, it added.

48 hours separate us from the election of a president and Hizbullah has not yet named Hariri for the premiership.

The daily added that the issue might be linked to the number of white papers and the number of votes that Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh- the second candidate facing Hizbullah's ally MP Michel Aoun- will get during the presidential election session, upon which Hizbullah would then decide if it would name Hariri.

Speaker Nabih Berri has summoned lawmakers on October 31 for the presidential vote, which will go ahead if a quorum of two-thirds is reached.

The 128-member legislature counts 127 lawmakers at the moment after one member resigned over the summer.

The successful candidate wins the vote with a majority of two-thirds in the first round, or with an absolute majority in the next rounds.

Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed him last Thursday.

Reports say that the ex-prime minister Hariri had struck a deal with Aoun to endorse him in exchange for his return as premier.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.