Hariri Not Planning To Re-Run For Position Of Lebanese Prime Minister

Sumaira FH Published August 25, 2020 | 10:45 PM

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Tuesday he will not participate in the race to become the head of the government again and said his name should be removed from the list of candidates

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2020) Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Tuesday he will not participate in the race to become the head of the government again and said his name should be removed from the list of candidates.

"I claim that do not run for the prime minister's post and call on everyone to remove my name from the list of candidates," Hariri said, as quoted by the state-run NNA news agency.

The former prime minister has explained his decision by the presence of a number of political forces in the country that refuse to recognize that there is a critical situation in Lebanon and it has caused by multiple reasons, including the long-standing economic crisis.

"They see only an opportunity in the situation to take an advantage of power in their own interests," Hariri added.

Hariri has also called on the local authorities to accept international assistance to help restore the Lebanese capital following the recent powerful explosion, as well as to conduct reforms and lead the country out of the crisis.

Hariri's government resigned in November 2019 amid mass anti-government protests prompted by the worst economic crisis that Lebanon has been suffering in 30 years. In January, President Michel Aoun has asked newly-appointed Prime Minister Hassan Diab to form a new cabinet of ministers. Despite that, pressure from the international community on Lebanon's administration, the aggravation of the crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic and internal political disputes did now allow the new government to conduct necessary changes and cope with the deteriorating economic situation.

Following the massive explosion that took place in early August in the Beirut port and left over 170 people killed and thousands injured, Diab's government stepped down after lasting less than a year in office.