Suleiman Sets Consultations to Name New Premier for April 5, 6

President Michel Suleiman set April 5 and 6 as the dates of the consultations to name a new prime minister in Lebanon.

The presidency said in a statement that the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier will kick off at the Baabda Palace on Friday, April 5 and end on the next day.

The consultations will begin with Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday afternoon who will be followed by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Suleiman will then hold a series of separate meetings with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, former Premiers Saad Hariri and Fouad Saniora, and deputy Speaker Farid Makari.

The president will then meet with the Liberation and Development, Mustaqbal, FPM, Loyalty to the Resistance, National Struggle Front, Democratic Gathering, and MP Michel al-Murr parliamentary blocs.

On Saturday, Suleiman will kick off consultations with the Zahleh, Lebanese Forces, Phalange, Unity of the Mountain, Free United Lebanon, Free Decision, Armenian Consensus, Tadamon, Baath Party, Syrian Socialist National Party, Armenian MPs, and Jamaa al-Islamiya blocs.

The president will conclude consultations on Saturday with separate meetings with independent MPs Butros Harb, Tammam Salam, Robert Ghanem, Nicolas Fattoush, Dory Shamoun, Robert Fadel, Marwan Hamadeh, Antoine Saad, Fouad al-Saad, Henry Helou, Mohammed Kabbara, Mohammed al-Safadi, and Qassem Abdul Aziz.

Miqati had announced on Friday the government's resignation after its failure to agree on extending the term of Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi and forming the authority to oversee the parliamentary elections.

The Mustaqbal Movement and Phalange Party of the March 14 camp had announced their openness to returning to national dialogue and the formation of a salvation government, while LF leader Samir Geagea had called for the formation of a technocrat cabinet, but rejected dialogue, which he deemed a waste of time.

For its part, Hizbullah of the March 8 camp had announced its rejection to the formation of a one-sided cabinet, while its MP Hassan Fadlallah had voiced his opposition to Miqati's nomination to the premiership.