Lebanon’s 90-Year-Old Former Minister Rejects Offer to Head New Government - Reports

BEIRUT (Sputnik) - Former Lebanese Justice Minister Bahij Tabbara, 90, has rejected the offer to take the helm of a new government, the country's Al Jadeed TV channel reported on Tuesday, citing a source.

Earlier in the day, a source said that the political elite was negotiating over appointing Tabbara as interim Prime Minister. The source noted that the decision would be made within 24 hours. The news came after acting Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the post of the head of the new cabinet.

Hariri filed his resignation on 29 October amid nationwide anti-government rallies. Protests against increasing living costs, new taxes and fees have continued.

Anti-government protesters shout slogans in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters of all ages gathered Sunday in major cities and towns nationwide, with each hour bringing hundreds more people to the streets for the largest anti-government protests yet in four days of demonstrations.

© AP Photo / Hassan Ammar

Tabbara, born in 1929, has served in several cabinets in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a Justice Minister and a Minister of Economy and Trade.