BEIRUT - Lebanon's outgoing pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karameh -- who resigned last week after a wave of mass opposition protests over the murder of his predecessor -- is expected to be asked Wednesday to return to office.
Most MPs consulted by President Emile Lahoud in a bid to find a new premier picked the conservative Karameh, and an official decree is expected later in the day, officials said.
Asked if he would agree to return to office, the 70-year-old Karameh said: "When I am designated, I will tell you."
After separate mandatory consultations with Lahoud, 52 of parliament's 127 members told reporters they had named Karameh, who stood down on February 28 amid massive public pressure following the assassination of ex premier Rafiq Hariri.
The opposition, which counts at least 44 MPs, is not planning to name its own candidate for the premiership but is making a number of demands in return for its support.
Karameh had taken office only four months ago following the resignation of his rival Hariri, the popular five-time prime minister and billionaire businessmen whose murder in a February 14 bomb blast was blamed by many here on the Lebanese regime and its backers in Damascus.
"We are demanding the truth about (Hariri's) assassination, the resignation or sacking of the public prosecutor and security chiefs, and the implementation of the Taef Accord for the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence forces from Lebanon according to a timetable," said MP Ghinwa Jalloul who is representing the opposition in the consultations.
03/09/2005 11:53 GMT