Lebanese President Michel Suleiman issued a decree Saturday designating Sunni majority leader MP Saad Hariri as Lebanese prime minister, and tasked him to form a new cabinet.

Two-day binding parliamentary consultations were carried out by the president on Friday and ended Saturday with 86 votes in favor of Hariri out of 128 votes.

Hariri was nominated by 71 majority members of his parliament block, in addition to 13 members of opposition Shiite parliament speaker Nabih Berri's block and two other independent MPs.

Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun and Hezbollah did not name Hariri, but gave no other name for the post.

Hariri, 39, was called to the presidential palace with the attendance of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to be officially designated by the president.

Saad Hariri was expected to become the next prime minister following June 7 parliamentary elections in which his coalition won 71 seats out of the 128 parliamentary seats.

Saad Hariri took up the political leadership of the Sunni majority ruling coalition since the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005 in a car bomb in Beirut.

He is to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, a member of the majority block.