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Lebanese Sunni Muslim leaders endorse ex-PM Najib Mikati as choice to form new government

Lebanese former prime ministers, Saad al-Hariri, Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and Tammam Salam meet in Beirut, Lebanon July 25, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

A club of former Lebanese prime ministers said on Sunday they endorsed the choice of another former premier, Najib Mekati, to form a new government in yet another attempt to bring Lebanon's political deadlock to an end.

Among Mikati's endorsers was veteran politician Saad al-Hariri, who abandoned his effort to form a new government last week after nearly 10 months of failing to agree its makeup with President Michel Aoun.

Aoun is due to meet parliamentary blocs on Monday for consultations on nominating a new prime minister.

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a news conference at the opening session of the Syrian Donors Conference at Bayan Palace Liberation Hall in Kuwait City January 15, 2014. Western and Gulf Arab nations pledged $1.4 billion on Wednesday for United Nations aid efforts in Syria, where an almost three-year-old civil war has left millions of people hungry, ailing or displaced. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee (KUWAIT - Tags: POLITICS)/File Photo

Lebanon has been run by a caretaker administration for nearly a year, while its currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts. The economic freefall is Lebanon's worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

In Lebanon's political system, the post has to be held by a Sunni Muslim, while the presidency is held by a Maronite Christian.

Lebanese former prime ministers, Saad al-Hariri and Najib Mikati greet each other in Beirut, Lebanon July 25, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Laila Bassam; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

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