By NNN-SPA,
Beirut : Lebanese leaders are close to a deal on the formation of a national unity government as stipulated in an agreement.
The country’s political sources said that the the new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies would have a blocking minority, could be announced as early as Saturday.
Lebanon’s majority coalition and the opposition, led by Hezbollah, signed a Qatari-brokered deal in Doha on May 21.
President Michel Suleiman was elected four days later in line with the deal, but squabbling over cabinet portfolios has held up the formation of a government.
The sources from both sides said the breakthough in the government came after a series of contacts by Qatari Prime Minister Shiekh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani with rival leaders.
The new government, led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, would have two Hezbollah ministers in addition to nine ministers from its Muslim, Druze and Christian allies.
The ruling coalition would have 16 ministers while the remaining three ministers in the 30-member cabinet would be picked by the president, the sources said.