Analysts say a divided Parliament will make it difficult for the crisis-hit country to form a government and solve Lebanon’s economic problems, but new faces bring some hope.
Independent and emerging candidates, many linked to the ‘October revolution’ in 2019, are expected to gain more seats than even before in Sunday’s polls, but it is unlikely this will bring sweeping change to the beleaguered country.
Hariri has announced he will not run in upcoming parliamentary elections and was withdrawing from political life due to several factors including Iran’s overbearing influence on the country’s politics.
In the wake of the failure to form a government led by Saad al Hariri, attention has now turned to the question of who will replace him amid increasingly desperate social and economic circumstances.
President Erdogan and Hariri, who is assigned to form the new government in Lebanon, hold a two-hours-long one-on-one meeting at the Vahdettin Palace in Istanbul.
Mustapha Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post.
Lebanon is deep in the throes of an economic crisis that has shaken confidence in the country's banks and worsened since the protests erupted on October 17.
Despite losses sustained by his party, Saudi-backed Saad Hariri would still have the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, facilitating his return as prime minister to form the next government.
Lebanon is heading towards its first election since 2009. Known as a microcosm of the Middle East, Lebanon continues to reflect greater Saudi-Iranian tensions in the region as the new internal dynamics have started to affect its political balances.
Lebanese voters are heading to the polls for the first time in six years for the municipal elections, while a new grassroots campaign takes on older parties
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