Sa’ad A-Din Al-Hariri, son of the late Lebanese premier Rafiq Al-Hariri, is planning to run in the parliamentary elections in May, reports the Lebanese Daily Star.
According to the paper, Al-Hariri’s family informed the parliamentary bloc which was led by the former prime minister of its decision on Wednesday.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Al-Hariri family said: “Sa’ad A-Din Rafiq Al-Hariri assumes the historic responsibility and leadership of all national and political affairs to lead Lebanon forward on all levels.”
The late leader’s sister, MP Bahia Al-Hariri, and her brother Shafiq said they “had all the faith in Sa’ad and his ability to continue in his father’s path,” calling on the Lebanese to “unite around the family to help them fulfill their responsibilities.”
According to political analyst Sami Baroudi, if Sa’ad does in fact run, “success is almost guaranteed. There’s a very strong pro-Hariri feeling.”
Rafiq Al-Hariri was assassinated two months ago, and the investigation into his murder is still ongoing. Al-Hariri was Lebanon’s premier through most of the 1990s, and resigned in 2004 following the appointment of the pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud to a third, unconstitutional, term as president.
His murder sparked a series of anti- and pro-Syrian demonstrations all over Lebanon. It also hastened the pullout of most Syrian troops from the country.