MP Neemat Frem announced Tuesday his alliance with the Lebanese Forces (LF), Kataeb and former independent MP Mansour al-Bon for the municipal elections in Jounieh scheduled for May. This election has been postponed year after year since 2022 by the Parliament due to the socio-economic crisis and in 2024 due to the war in south Lebanon.

"The electoral alliance has been concluded. We will participate in the municipal elections together, in Jounieh and throughout Kesrwan," Frem said following a meeting in Meerab with LF leader Samir Geagea, as reported by the state-run National News Agency. "This electoral agreement for the municipals will positively reflect on the residents of Jounieh."

On Friday, the LF and Bon announced their alliance for the elections in the Kesrwan region, which they claim "will form the basis of a new phase of alliance for the upcoming legislative elections and will consolidate common regional and national objectives and support the political positions of the LF." A week earlier, Geagea and MP Nadim Gemayel, a member of the Kataeb party, discussed the necessity of forming a coalition for the election.

The last municipal elections in Lebanon took place in 2016, and councils were elected for six years. A large number of municipal councils have since resigned or are unable to perform their duties due to a lack of financial and human resources. Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar announced at the beginning of March that the first phase of the municipal elections will begin on May 4.

Electoral law and legislative elections

Asked about the law proposals related to electoral reform because of the legislative elections planned for 2026, Frem stated that the current law was "incomplete" and required amendments concerning megacenters and seats allocated to Lebanese expatriates.

"We must open the door for discussion on amending the current law, and if we do not reach a result, the old law should remain in force," he said, warning against a postponement of the election due to these amendments.

The debate on the electoral law in anticipation of the legislative elections planned for 2026 was revived in Lebanon after a law proposal was presented by MP Ali Hassan Khalil (Amal), the right-hand man of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The text envisaged amending the 2017 electoral law, under which the elections of 2018 and 2022 were held, for the elections scheduled to take place in 2026. It notably proposes adding six MPs representing the diaspora to the current 128 parliamentarians. The election would be conducted, according to this text, under a proportional voting system, as is currently the case, but in which Lebanon would represent only a single constituency. The current electoral law divides Lebanon into 15 electoral constituencies, in which each voter votes for an open list of candidates, with the option of using a single preferential vote within the chosen list. The second law foresees the election of a Senate of 46 members, elected for six years, on a confessional basis.