The head of the International Court of Justice, Nawaf Salam is set to become Lebanon’s prime minister after more than half of lawmakers backed him for the post.
Salam secured the backing of 78 of the MPs out of 128 today, with nine endorsing Najib Mikati who has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity.
Today’s development reflects the weakened position of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which wanted Najib Mikati to keep the job, following its devastating war with Israel and the toppling of the group’s ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria last month.
The election last week of army commander General Joseph Aoun as head of state, a choice backed by the United States, also showed the shift in Lebanon’s sectarian political landscape, in which Hezbollah had long held a decisive sway.
