Lebanon nominates Siniora as PM

The nomination, agreed at a late-night meeting of coalition leaders, means Siniora is to form the country"s first government under the newly-elected President Michel Suleiman, Reuters reported.

The "March 14" coalition will officially inform the Lebanese president of its choice when he consults parliament on Wednesday. The president has to appoint the prime minister nominated by a majority of MPs.

The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim under Lebanon"s sectarian power-sharing system.

Majority leader Saad al-Hariri thought of getting the post himself but opted to keep on his close ally Siniora, mainly because the new government will stay in office only until the 2009 general election.

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