Lebanon’s parliament speaker: President obstructing gov’t formation

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday held President Michel Aoun fully responsible for blocking the formation of a new government and exacerbating people’s suffering.

Berri said in a statement that Aoun has explicitly said that he does not want Saad Hariri to be the next prime minister, adding that he does not have the authority to decide who the next PM should be.

“The decision to form the government does not lie with the presidency but with the parliament and therefore I have the right to try, at the Prime Minister-designate’s request, to assist him in any initiative he may reach,” the statement added.

Hariri has been at loggerheads with Aoun over naming ministers since his designation in October. The former government has continued in a caretaker capacity after having resigned in the aftermath of the 4 August Beirut port blast.

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