Berri: Consultations for 'Broad National Unity Govt.' to Begin Monday

Parliamentary consultations for the formation of a “broad national unity government” will kick off on Monday, Speaker Nabih Berri announced Thursday after meeting President Michel Aoun in Baabda.

“The government must be formed quickly because the economic situation is pressing,” Berri said, shortly after Saad Hariri was officially tasked with forming a new government.

“The new government will be a broad national unity government,” he added.

Aoun had earlier issued a decree tasking Hariri with forming a new government after he received 111 votes in binding parliamentary consultations.

Berri was on Wednesday elected to a sixth consecutive term as parliament speaker while Elie Ferzli of Aoun's Strong Lebanon bloc was named deputy speaker.