Lebanon's president said on Saturday he will soon set a date forformal consultations with lawmakers to pick a new prime minister following Saadal-Hariri's resignation this week, but is working to resolve some complicationsfirst.
President Michel Aoun is obliged to hold a formal period ofconsultations with members of parliament and designate the figure with the mostsupport as the new prime minister who will be tasked with forming a government.
Aoun has not yet set a date for those consultations to begin,but said he had been making the "necessary calls" to lay the groundfor them to start.
"The challenges in front of the future government require arapid but not hasty approach to the designation process, because rushing insuch cases can have harmful consequences," the presidency media officesaid in a statement. The statement said Aoun needed to resolve somecomplications but did not elaborate.
Prime Minister Hariri resigned on Tuesday after nationwideanti-government protests.
The protests have been less intense since he resigned, butdemonstrators are still on the streets, and one of their main demands is forthe rapid formation of a new government led by technocrats to carry out badlyneeded economic reforms.
