According to sources from his Future Movement party, former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not participate in the next parliamentary elections, the Pan-Arab TV channel Al Mayadeen announced on Sunday.

Hariri, the movement's leader, would only morally and politically back the candidates of his political organization, according to an unnamed official source within the party.

According to the source, the former head of government will not choose the candidates and would not provide any financial assistance.

Hariri was Prime Minister of Lebanon twice (2009-2011 and 2016-2019), and was a powerful force in the country's sociopolitical scene until he was confronted with the country's greatest economic and financial crisis in decades.

His popularity began to pale after his departure in October 2019 in the face of widespread civilian insubordination, allegedly due to the withdrawal of backing from his Saudi Arabian partners.

The rift became well-known in November 2017, when Saudi officials held him for 21 days and compelled him to submit a resignation statement, which he later retracted when he returned to Lebanon.