Prime Minister Najib Mikati was reappointed premier on June 23, 2022, after binding parliamentary consultations. (Photo: Anwar Amro / AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanese MPs have voted to give Najib Mikati a second consecutive term as Prime Minister Thursday. Soon after the vote, he addressed the country in a televised speech.
Here’s what we know:
• In his first speech after re-assuming the premiership, Mikati thanked those who voted for him and those who didn’t, because both have exercised their democratic rights.
• The prime minister designate urged “Lebanese politicians to put their differences aside, and to work toward a unified country because time is running out to rescue Lebanon from the crisis it’s facing.”
• Mikati stated that the International Monetary Fund is Lebanon’s only hope in the current situation.
• He assured Lebanese that his government will work with Parliament to secure a set of preliminary reforms, which must be in place before the implementation of a final IMF agreement.
• In an April statement, the IMF said that its program in Lebanon could be supported by a 46-month extended fund arrangement with a requested access of $3 billion.
• Mikati praised Lebanon’s citizens for “standing strong in the face of adversity,” and assured them that “Lebanon will not die.”