BEIRUT: Saad Hariri is set to be designated as the next Lebanese Prime Minister, after President Michel Aoun ended binding consultations with parliamentary blocs, which witnessed overwhelming support for the Future Movement leader.

The former PM garnered the support of 110 MPs of the 128-member legislature during the two-day talks.

Shortly following the talks, Aoun summoned Hariri to ask him to form a new government, according to a presidential statement.

Speaker Nabih Berri wrapped up the consultations, announcing his bloc’s backing for Hariri. Support from the 13-member Development and Liberation bloc for Hariri secures Shiite backing, after Hezbollah’s 13-member Loyalty to the Resistance bloc abstained from nominating him earlier in the day.

"I am in Hariri's debt...I decided along with the Development and Liberation bloc, to which I belong, to pay this debt to name Hariri [as premier]," Berri told reporters after meeting with Aoun.

In a widely expected move, Hezbollah’s bloc did not name Hariri for PM, due to long-standing political differences between the two sides over the party’s arsenal and its deep involvement in the 5-year-old war in Syria.

Although they did not officially nominate Hariri, Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah had previously hinted that he would not mind him for the premiership.

Aoun also met with the Armenian MPs’ bloc and a number of independent lawmakers, who named Hariri as their choice for PM.

These included MPs Robert Ghanem, Dory Chamoun, Nicolas Fattoush, Ahmad Fatfat, Mohammad Safadi and Imad Hout from the Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya bloc.

On Wednesday, Hariri had already garnered the support of 86 MPs, or two-thirds of the 128-member legislature, out of the 90 lawmakers polled by the newly elected president. By the end of Thursday’s talks he had the support of 110 MPs.

Hariri's nomination of Aoun last month guaranteed the latter's election as president, who won with an absolute majority in Monday's vote. The move appeared to be part of a deal which saw Hariri secure Aoun's support for the Future head's premiership.

Aoun will later officially designate Hariri for the premiership.