Hezbollah to get ministerial posts
Nasrallah and opposition leaders agree on unity government in Lebanon
Beirut : Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Sa'ad Hariri will announce a new national unity government in the next two days after clinching a deal with the opposition on its make-up, politicians from both sides said on Saturday.
Lebanon has been without a functioning government since Hariri led his coalition, backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to victory in a June parliamentary election against Hezbollah and its allies. According to the deal, Hezbollah is to get two ministers.
Main parties
A government acceptable to all main parties is seen as key to maintaining stability in a country facing sectarian and political tensions, as well as a huge debt burden.
"The government is as good as formed," member of parliament Okab Saqr, who is close to Hariri, told New TV station. "It's all about the final touches now and its formation will be completed this weekend."
Other MPs from both camps made similar remarks. Leaders of the opposition, including Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, agreed to join the proposed government during a meeting on Friday night.
"Participants at the talks have agreed to forge ahead with the formation of the national unity government in accordance with the regulations that were agreed upon during the negotiations that had been conducted," Hezbollah said in a statement after the meeting, held at a secret location.
Warming ties
Political sources said the opposition would officially inform Hariri of its decision and hand him over the names of their proposed ministers. Hariri has spent more than four months trying to broker a deal with the opposition to join a unity cabinet. A warming of ties between the two sides' main backers Syria and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks helped ease the rift in Beirut and led eventually to the breakthrough.
The rival factions had agreed in July on the broad division of seats in the new cabinet.
But Hariri, son of assassinated billionaire statesman Rafik Hariri, had struggled to reach agreement with opposition politicians on the details.
