Summary Sunni Muslim politician Tammam Salam Saturday won overwhelming support from parliamentarians
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s president formally asked Sunni Muslim politician Tammam Salam to form a new government on Saturday after Salam won overwhelming support from parliamentarians to be the country s new prime minister.
Salam s appointment comes two weeks after the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose two years in office were dominated by efforts to contain sectarian tensions, violence and economic fallout from the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
His immediate task, if he is able to form a cabinet accepted by the country s rival political forces, will be to prepare for a parliamentary election which is due in June but faces likely delay.
No agreement has been reached yet on an electoral system under which the vote will take place.
Following two days of consultations, President Michel Suleiman asked legislator and former Minister of Culture Tamam Salam to form the new Cabinet after 124 of the 128-member parliament chose him for the job.
Salam will face the challenge of holding Lebanon together amid rising sectarian tension resulting from the civil war next door in Syria.
Shortly after the consultations ended on Saturday, Salam headed to the presidential palace where Suleiman formally asked him to form the government.
Salam is expected to form a national unity government, a process that could take him a long time because of the sharp divisions among Lebanese politicians as a result of the Syrian crisis.
