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Middle East

Lebanon's 2 major parties back Hariri for PM

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    In this photo released by the Lebanese Parliament media office, former Lebanese Prime Minister and lawmaker Saad Hariri, center, casts his vote during a session to elect new president at the parliament hall, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. Lebanon's parliament on Monday elected Michel Aoun, an 81-year-old former army commander and strong ally of the militant group Hezbollah, as the country's president, ending a more than two-year vacuum in the top post and a political crisis that brought state institutions perilously close to collapse. (Hassan Ibrahim, Lebanese Parliament media office, via AP) (The Associated Press)

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    A giant picture of the newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Aoun is seen behind the Statue of Martyrs created by Italian artist Marino Mazzacurati, during a rally at Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. Lebanon's parliament on Monday elected Michel Aoun, an 81-year-old former army commander and strong ally of the militant group Hezbollah, as the country's president, ending a more than two-year vacuum in the top post and a political crisis that brought state institutions perilously close to collapse. Arabic on the picture reads "Republic". (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (The Associated Press)

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    In this Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 photo provided by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, poses for an official picture, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon's parliament on Monday elected Michel Aoun, an 81-year-old former army commander and strong ally of the militant group Hezbollah, as the country's president, ending a more than two-year vacuum in the top post and a political crisis that brought state institutions perilously close to collapse. (Dalati Nohra via AP) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – Lebanon's two major parliamentary blocs have named Saad Hariri, a former prime minister and a Sunni leader, as their candidate for premier in the government to be formed after a new president was elected.

The formal nomination Tuesday by the Future bloc, led by Hariri, and the majority Christian bloc comes a day after Michel Aoun was elected president. Aoun is likely to name the new premier before the weekend.

Hariri's nomination was widely expected. He was promised the post in exchange for backing Aoun's presidential bid, ending a two-and-half-year deadlock that left Lebanon without a president.

In the country's sectarian-based political system, the prime minister is likely to face a daunting job, balancing different and often rival groups, to form a new Cabinet.

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