BEIRUT, 26 July 2021, (TON): Lebanese President Michel Aoun will hold binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a Sunni figure to form a government, with former Prime Minister Najib Mikati expected to lead the new administration.

But even if the decree to designate someone is issued on Monday, the process of forming a government is expected to present many obstacles.

In preparation for the one-day consultations, the parliamentary blocs have been meeting on Sunday to discuss who they want to nominate.

Sources say they are mostly concerned about any candidate’s ability to form a government after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri failure nine months after he was designated. Hariri’s episode followed Ambassador Mustapha Adib stepping down in September 2020, less than two months after he was designated, for failing to achieve the same goal.

Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab has been running a government that resigned following the Aug. 4 Beirut explosion.

The politicians, who are divided by sectarianism but united by corruption, have been failing to form a government that would implement the reforms required by the international community to help Lebanon emerge from its unprecedented economic crisis.

An anti-government protester walks with a Lebanese national flag during a demonstration in downtown Beirut. The country is marred by political and economical crises. (AFP)