Lebanon's Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday he was not a candidate to be prime minister of a new government, leaving no obvious alternative to head a cabinet that must tackle the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Hariri, the outgoing prime minister and Lebanon's leading Sunni politician, made the statement on the eve of formal consultations to designate the new prime minister, a post reserved for a Sunni in Lebanon's sectarian system.
"I announce that I will not be a candidate to form the coming government," Hariri said in a statement.
"I am heading tomorrow to take part in the consultations ... on this basis, insisting that they not be delayed for any reason," he said.