Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will likely announce his government line-up over the weekend after the hurdle on the representation of six Sunni deputies from the Hezbollah-allied Consultative Gathering was resolved.
“A cabinet will be announced before Christmas,” sources close to the cabinet consultations told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.
Since the May parliamentary elections, rival political parties have been bickering over key ministerial shares, hampering the formation of the national unity government.
The process was further complicated when Hariri rejected a Hezbollah demand for a seat for one of its Sunni allies, the Consultative Gathering, a parliamentary bloc including six deputies.
But a breakthrough was reached this week following extensive consultations led by General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
Concerned parties agreed that the six Sunni MPs get a representation by a figure from outside the Consultative Gathering after President Michel Aoun accepted to cede one of his bloc's seats in the government to the Hezbollah-allied Sunni figure.
A local television station, LBCI, said Tuesday that the deputies should visit the Presidential Palace next Friday to meet with Aoun and Hariri and hand them a list of names from which the President and the PM-designate can chose the cabinet minister.
“Choosing the name of the Sunni candidate should not constitute any obstacle in the face of the cabinet formation process,” the sources said without revealing the names of potential candidates.
On Tuesday, Ibrahim held separate meetings with Aoun, Hariri and members of the Consultative Gathering to remove the last hurdle to the cabinet formation process.
“If this positive atmosphere continues, I can reassure the Lebanese about the upcoming formation of the government. This is the last quarter of an hour before the birth of the government," Ibrahim said after meeting the members of the Gathering.
Also Tuesday, Hariri’s Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc expressed satisfaction with Aoun’s initiative and its expected outcome.
