Former Lebanese finance minister Mohammad Safadi withdrew his candidacy to be the next prime minister on Saturday, saying that he saw that it would have been difficult to form a "harmonious" cabinet supported by all parties.
Safadi, in a statement from his office, said he hoped outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri would be designated again for the post. Hariri quit on Oct. 29 in the face of unprecedented anti-government protests.
Safadi had emerged as a candidate on Thursday when political sources and Lebanese media said three major parties had agreed to support him for the position.
Lebanon has been roiled by a month of nationwide protests against a ruling elite that is widely accused of overseeing rampant state corruption and steering Lebanon into its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 war.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
