Lebanese President Joseph Aoun began consultations with lawmakers on Monday to designate a prime minister in what political sources saw as a tight race between incumbent Najib Mikati and International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam.The designation of the prime minister is the next step in the formation of a new administration following Aoun’s election to the vacant presidency, which reflected a shift in the power balance since Hezbollah was pummeled in the war last year with Israel and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Aoun, who enjoys the support of the United States and Saudi Arabia, must designate the candidate with the biggest backing among parliament’s 128 lawmakers.The outcome is expected to emerge by the end of the day.The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim according to Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system which parcels out state positions on the basis of religious