BEIRUT — With the municipal and legislative elections in Lebanon approaching, scheduled for 2025 and 2026 respectively, voters are encouraged to double check that they are properly registered with the Interior Ministry and that their personal information is accurate, so as to avoid any errors that could compromise their right to vote.

Why is this step important, when should it be done, and in which elections are Lebanese called to participate?

Who can vote in which elections?

• Lebanese citizens over 21 years old are eligible to vote in the upcoming municipal and legislative elections.

• Lebanese expatriates can vote in their country of residence only for legislative elections.

Why is checking the details on the voter lists important?

Ever election, there are errors in the voter lists. Personal details are filed incorrectly, some voters' names are missing altogether, and the names of people who have passed away since the last election are often still listed — errors that are often attributed to delays in digitizing civil status information. It was only at the beginning of 2021 that the Ministry of the Interior began digitizing its database. If there is a discrepancy between a voter's name on their identity documents and the name listed, they will not be allowed to vote. If the name is missing altogether, their chances of being able to vote are especially thwarted.

How to check your details?

Published at the beginning of February, the voter lists for the years 2025-2026 can be consulted on the Directorate General of Civil Status website. Citizens can search the site using their identity card number or by providing information on the mohafazat, district, city of origin, gender, sect affiliation, and registry number. The search must be conducted in Arabic on the site.

What to do if the details are incorrect?

Once located, voters should verify that their information is complete and correct. If anything is either incorrect or missing, forms can be downloaded from the site and filled out with requests to add or remove names, or make corrections. This process is available for both residents of Lebanon and Lebanese in the diaspora.

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For residents, requests to modify data must be delivered by March 1 to designated offices, a list of which is available online. Documents can also be submitted to municipalities or to local mokhtars.

For expatriates, their documents must be signed by the ambassador or consul of their country of residence, and deadlines may vary depending on the consulate concerned. Expatriate voters must therefore ensure this with their local consulate.

In an email sent this week, the Lebanese consulate in New York urged diaspora voters to verify their personal information by Feb. 27 and be sure to submit any necessary forms to the Interior Ministry accordingly. The Washington consulate has set the deadline as March 1. Requests can also be made in person at the consulate or via registered mail signed by a notary, according to the New York consulate.

The context

Lebanese embassies around the world have called on Lebanese in the diaspora to ensure that their voter registration information is correct by the end of the month, in tandem with the Interior Ministry's requests to residents to do the same starting at the beginning of February.

Municipal elections were first scheduled for 2022, postponed to 2023 and then again to 2024, for financial reasons. The war between Hezbollah and Israel, which lasted from October 2023 until the cease-fire agreement came into effect in November 2024, further delayed elections, which are finally set to be held May 31, 2025. The next legislative elections are expected to take place in spring 2026, but no date has been provided yet.

The new Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced on Wednesday that his government is "determined to organize municipal elections in Lebanon on time, following the strictest criteria of transparency and respect for freedoms and democracy."