Who will call Hariri?

Writing in Asharq Al-Awsat, Caroline Akum wrote in Asharq Al-Awsat, the vote map of the parliamentary blocs seems clear in terms of naming former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and has not changed since last week except for position of the bloc of the “Consultative Meeting”, which includes Sunni representatives allied with Hezbollah, who announced their abstention on naming Hariri.

The National Party bloc is expected to announce its position on the nomination of Hariri, who called its president Asaad Hardan yesterday. In a statement, the “national” announced that during the convocation the issue of parliamentary consultations was discussed. Hardan stressed “the importance of completing the consultations and accelerating the formation of a government that enjoys political and national weight.”
While all eyes are on the number of votes Hariri will receive, the constitutional readings differ in this regard. Some consider that the president-designate should get the majority of the MPs (half plus one), others say that they should get the majority of the number of MPs participating in the consultations, while presidential sources confirm “Asharq Al-Awsat” that according to the constitution, the person who receives the highest number of votes from the deputies who participate in the consultations.
Hariri is likely to get between 55 and 68 votes, if Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc grants him the votes of its representatives. The Future Block (21 deputies), the Democratic Encounter Block (8 deputies), the Development and Liberation Block (Amal Movement) has 15 deputies, the Future Center block headed by President Najib Mikati (4 deputies) and the Marada Movement block (5 deputies), and will be distinguished from the position of «strong Lebanon». Each of the vice-presidents of Parliament, Elie Ferzli, and the Armenian deputies (Tashnak Party) have 3 representatives, appointing them Hariri, in addition to 3 representatives of the “Nationalist Party “, if they go to Hariri’s name.