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Outgoing Lebanese PM Hariri Withdraws Candidacy for Post


FILE - Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri gestures as he leaves after delivering an address in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 29, 2019.
FILE - Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri gestures as he leaves after delivering an address in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 29, 2019.

Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is withdrawing his candidacy for the premiership. The announcement comes nearly a month after he resigned amid ongoing protests as well as a severe economic and financial crisis.

In a statement issued Wednesday, he called on President Michel Aoun to quickly hold consultations with heads of parliamentary blocks to name a new prime minister.

Hariri submitted his government's resignation on Oct. 29 in response to nationwide anti-government demonstrations that erupted two weeks earlier. They've since targeted corruption and mismanagement by the country's ruling elite.

Hariri says he hopes withdrawing his candidacy will open the way for a solution to the political deadlock. He insists that a new government made up of experts is needed to get Lebanon out of its crisis.

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