Lebanese President Michel Aoun will convene binding consultations with parliamentary blocs on Monday to designate a new prime minister, Baabda Palace said, after the government of PM Hassan Diab quit earlier this month following the catastrophic explosion at Beirut port.
The president is required to designate the candidate with the greatest level of support among MPs.
Ex-Premier Saad Hariri said earlier this week he was not a candidate after several major parties said they did not support his return to the job.
Diab's cabinet resigned after the Aug. 4 blast, which was blamed on a store of ammonium nitrate left for years in a port warehouse despite warnings.
The explosion, one of the largest such blasts in recent history, killed more than 180 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed property within a radius of several miles.
The catastrophic blast comes on top of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, a currency crash and hyperinflation — the culmination of decades of endemic corruption and mismanagement by a ruling class that has refused to reform or step down.
Western nations have been demanding major reforms in the country in return for help, and some countries have been sending aid directly to the people rather than state institutions notorious for corruption.
