Lebanon: Mohammad Safadi withdraws his candidacy to be country's next PM

Former Lebanese finance minister Mohammad Safadi has withdrawn his candidacy to be the next prime minister, reports said.

This comes after on Thursday, protestors took to the streets as soon as reports begun to show that Safadi has been nominated to be the Prime Minister of the country after Saad Hariri resigned from his post on October 29 in the face of massive anti-government protest.

Al Jazeera quoted Safadi as saying that he saw that it would have been difficult to form a "harmonious" cabinet supported by all the parties.

The anti-government protests in Lebanon began on October 17, with demonstrations from various religious groups accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement. The protesters also called for steps to improve the economic condition of the country.

Meeting one of the key demands of demonstrators, Saad Hariri On October 29 resigned as Lebanon's prime minister. However, he will stay on in the role of caretaker Prime Minister until a new government is formed.

According to figures released by Lebanon's Finance Ministry in July, the country has one of the biggest public debt ratios in the world.

The country's gross debt reached 85.7 billion dollars at the end of June, up by 0.7 per cent from the end of last year, added the ministry.