Lebanon's Safadi withdraws candidacy to be next Prime Minister - reports
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By Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's then-Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohammad Safadi, speaks during the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in Beirut, October 20, 2010. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam/File Photo
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Cynthia Karam(Reuters)
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Former finance minister Mohammad Safadi withdrew his candidacy to be prime minister of the next Lebanese government, broadcasters LBCI and al-Jadeed reported on Saturday.
Safadi emerged as a candidate on Thursday when political sources and Lebanese media said three major parties had agreed to support him for the position.
Saad al-Hariri quit as prime minister on Oct. 29 in the face of unprecedented protests against a ruling elite that is widely accused of overseeing rampant state corruption and steering Lebanon into its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 war.
(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Grant McCool)