In accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution, the president received at the Baabda Presidential Palace the lawmakers in blocs or independently to appoint the prime minister in charge of forming the new cabinet.

Among the names mentioned by the lawmakers were the current head of the interim Government, Najib Mikati, former Prime Minister Tammam Salam, and Judge Nawaf Salam.

As established, the prime minister-designate will hold parliamentary consultations to select the members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic has the right to modify or reject any proposed name.

Once the list of ministers is approved, the head of State and the prime minister will sign the decree forming the government, which must then issue its general policy statement.

Under the Constitution, Parliament will hold a session to vote confidence in the new Cabinet, a prerequisite for the Cabinet to take office.

The binding legislative consultations to appoint a president to form the new government is the first constitutional task of the head of State, Joseph Aoun, following his election in a runoff on Thursday.

Mikati has headed the country in a caretaker capacity since May 2022 following the parliamentary elections, and the inability to reach a consensus for its formation during the six-year term of former President Michel Aoun, which expired on October 31 of that year.

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