BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday picked international jurist Nawaf Salam to form a government for the war-scarred country and pull it out of economic crisis.

A majority of Lebanese lawmakers endorsed Nawaf Salam, the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, after two years of caretaker government.

`The president of the republic called on Judge Nawaf Salam to task him with forming a government, knowing that he is currently abroad.

It has been decided he will return tomorrow,` the presidency said.

Aoun, whose election last week ended a two-year vacancy for the post, held consultations with lawmakersahead of announcinghisnominee.

By Monday afternoon, 84 members of parliament told Aoun they backed Salam, according to a tally by Lebanese media, with nine endorsing Najib Mikati who has served as prime minister in a caretaker capacity.

Aoun`s election last week was made possible in part by the weakening of Hezbollah in a war with Israel.

With the prime minister named by the president, the eastern Mediterranean country has been run by a caretaker government for morethan two years amid a crushing economic crisis.

Under Lebanon`s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni, and the parliament speaker a Shia.

`Change` Salam`s backers view the judge and former ambassador as an impartial figure able to carry out muchneeded reforms, a contrast to Mikati regarded by critics as under Hezbollah`s influence.

Lawmaker George Adwan of Christian party the Lebanese Forces said after meeting Aoun and endorsing Salam that it was time for Hezbollah to focus on `political work`. `The era of weapons is over, Adwan told reporters.

Hezbollah ended a deadly war against Israel this autumn bruised and weakened.

Under a ceasefire deal, the group must pull its fighters from areas of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border as the national army until last week under Aoun`s command and UN peacekeepers deploy there.

Hezbollah also lost a key ally in neighbouring Syria when religiousled forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month. Independent lawmaker Melhem Khalaf said he backed Salam as a candidate of change.

A source close to Hezbollah saidthat the movement and its ally Amal movement supported Mikati. The Monday front page of Al-Akhbar, a newspaper close to Hezbollah, said Salam`s nomination would be tantamount to a `complete US coup`, after Washington had backed Aoun for president.

`Two options` In his inaugural speech on Thursday, Aoun said his election as president would usher in a `new phase` for the country. Lebanese university professor Ali Mrad said support for Salam`s nomination reflected `the real changes that Lebanon is experiencing`.

`Today there are two options in the country: a serious reform option, called Nawaf Salam, and an option that takes us back, called Najib Mikati,` he said.

Some opposition lawmakers on Saturday threw their weight behind anti-Hezbollah lawmaker and businessman Fouad Makhzoumi, but on Monday he withdrew to allow consensus around Salam. Whoever heads Lebanon`s new government will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country`s worst economic crisis in its history.

They will also face the daunting task of reconstructing swathes of the country after the Israel-Hezbollah war and implementing the Nov 27 ceasefire agreement.-AFP