Report: LF urges for unifying 'sovereign forces' on new PM name

There will be no delay in setting a date for the binding parliamentary consultations, al-Liwaa newspaper reported Wednesday.

The daily said it has learned from sources that the consultations will follow the smooth juncture of the Parliament's Speaker and Deputy Speaker election on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that more efforts should be made to unify the "sovereign and reformist forces" on a new Prime Minister name according to the new balances. The sources ruled out the idea of activating the current government.

For his part, former-Minister and constitutional expert Ziad Baroud said that legally the current government can not be activated. "It is automatically dismissed and is only a caretaker government," Baroud explained.

"In order to keep it, it must be re-appointed and it must re-win the Parliament confidence," the ex-minister added.

Intense political horse-trading is expected in the coming months, as observers have warned of protracted deadlocks during consultations to name a new prime minister and in the run-up to an election later this year to replace President Michel Aoun.