BEIRUT, Lebanon (CCTV) — Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is confirmed to return to Lebanon for Independence Day celebrations on Nov. 22 and officially resign from his post.
According to local news reports in Lebanon, Hariri is likely to travel to Egypt and Kuwait before returning to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, where he is expected to visit the Lebanese presidential palace to tender his resignation and formally resign.
Analysts believe that due to the pressure from Saudi Arabia and the aftereffects of his resignation, the possibility that Hariri will regret resigning after returning to Lebanon is slim.
Lebanese political analyst, Wissam Lahham said that after Hariri’s resignation, the country needs to form a new government. Even if Hariri is no longer prime minister, he is still the leader of the Lebanese Future Movement. Hariri will still play an important role in the process of forming a new government.
Once the new government is formed, the March 14 Alliance led by the Future Movement and the Hezbollah-led March 8 Alliance will start a new round of government coalitions.
“Hezbollah will not be affected in the sense that [Hezbollah] will not change his political stance on Syria and on Iraq. [Hezbollah] may do some compromise and appearances, to lessen the pressure on Saad Hariri, if Saad Hariri accepts to form the new government. If the Future Movement will escalate against Hezbollah, Hezbollah will retaliate, attack back politically in the same way,” said Lahham.
Hariri’s prolonged absence since his sudden resignation on Nov. 4, which he announced in a televised statement from the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, has fueled speculation that he was not free to travel, with Lebanese President Michel Aoun going so far as to say he had been “detained.”