April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Nagib Miqati was named Lebanon's next prime minister with the backing of anti-Syrian political factions that want to make sure elections scheduled for next month are held.

Miqati, a Sunni Muslim from Tripoli, was chosen by the Lebanese legislature earlier today, Christine DeLeon, an assistant to Farid Abboud, Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S., said by telephone in Washington. The embassy didn't have any other details.

Miqati, 49, is a wealthy businessman who has been an ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. He pledged to meet opposition demands that elections set for next month be held on time, and to not run for office himself, said Lebanese-American professor Walid Phares, who teaches at Florida Atlantic University.

``He's trying to play a neutral role,'' Phares, who is in regular contact with the Lebanese opposition, said. ``It's a smart move for the opposition, because they want to have the elections. If they are fair the opposition is going to overrun the parliament.''

Lebanon has been without a government since Feb. 28 following the assassination in Beirut two weeks earlier of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, which plunged the country into political turmoil. Some Lebanese blame Syria for his death. Syria, which has exercised de facto control over Lebanon since it sent soldiers there in 1976 to quell a civil war, denies the allegations.

Syria

Syria may ``try to postpone or trump the elections,'' by, for example appointing a loyalist minister of the interior able to interfere in the election process, Phares, who is a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said.

The murder of Hariri set off popular protests against former Prime Minister Omar Karame's government and the presence of about 15,000 Syrian soldiers in the country.

The U.S., France and others called on Syria to abide by a September United Nations resolution calling for the withdrawal of all foreign soldiers from Lebanon. Syria has since said the soldiers would be withdrawn by the time elections are held.

Karame resigned after failing to form a new government as the Syrians began withdrawing military and intelligence officials.

``For the opposition, the goal is to have a government that is somewhat neutral ahead of elections and to have United Nations observers,'' Phares said.

A United Nations team reported last month that al-Assad threatened Hariri with harm if the prime minister failed to support an extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's term of office.

The report also said there were ``serious flaws'' in Lebanon's investigation into Hariri's murder, and called for an international investigation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Zeranski in New York at tzeranski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 15, 2005 17:00 EDT