The designated Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam. Photo taken in 2011 in New York. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
Grand Mufti Abdel Latif Derian congratulated Judge Nawaf Salam on his appointment “to form the government and the trust granted to him by the parliamentarians,” the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported Tuesday.
He expressed his hopes for Salam's "success and achievement in the tasks entrusted to him amidst the challenging circumstances the country is going through."
Derian emphasized that "facilitating the task of the designated prime minister is a national duty to form a comprehensive national government composed of experts and qualified individuals."
He called on "political forces to cooperate in facilitating the designated prime minister’s mission to save the country as quickly as possible, aiming for Lebanon’s political, living, economic, and developmental revival, so that Lebanon may enjoy a prosperous and secure future filled with peace and stability."
He also praised the efforts of the “caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, during his tenure, particularly in the delicate and dangerous circumstances the country faced, expressing gratitude for all he had done for Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”
Salam, head judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, won an overwhelming majority of MPs' votes on Monday after a day of binding consultations led by the newly appointed President Joseph Aoun.
Salam gained the support of 84 out of 128 lawmakers in Parliament, with Mikati securing only nine, and 35 ballots being cast as blank.