MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2019) The office of the Lebanese president said Sunday that Michel Aoun decided to push back by a week consultations with lawmakers, who were expected to designate a new prime minister shortly.
"In light of the recent developments... Michel Aoun decided to put off the mandatory parliamentary consultations set for this Monday... until Monday, December 16," the statement on Facebook read.
The announced referred to events that took place earlier in the day when new frontrunner Samir Khatib withdrew his candidacy to head the government.
The businessman said that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who stepped down in October, was the preferred choice of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims. Under the existing power-sharing arrangement, the prime minister must be a Sunni.
