The Vice President of the Chamber Élias Bou Saab. (Credit: NNA.)
BEIRUT — Joint parliamentary committees on Thursday referred the issue of Lebanese expatriates voting to a subcommittee, following "divergences" on the matter, according to the House Speaker Elias Bou Saab.
Several MPs submitted a bill to Parliament three weeks ago aimed at allowing emigrants to vote from their countries of adoption, based on the constituency of their region of origin, rather than for six MPs reserved for the diaspora, as provided for in the 2017 electoral law, the first text to establish emigrants' voting from their countries of adoption.
Following the meeting where electoral law proposals were examined in view of the legislative elections scheduled for 2026, Bou Saab stated that there are "divergences of points of view, especially on the issue of expatriate voting." "The current law provides for the election of six Parliament members representing the various continents, and it is the expatriates who elect these six MPs," Bou Saab reminded.
"A debate also took place on the expatriate's right to vote, as exercised in the last election. Any modification raises issues that need to be addressed, and this will be examined by the subcommittee set up to address this question," Bou Saab explained. This subcommittee will include the House Speaker, MP Hadi Aboul Hosn, as well as members from the Defense, Interior, Administration and Justice, and Finance and Budget Committees.
Although emigrants were able to vote in 2022, they did so based on their original constituencies in Lebanon, without the six diaspora MPs being added to the total number of parliamentarians, an amendment to the law adopted exceptionally and for one election only. The clause for the six MPs reserved for the diaspora should therefore normally apply to the next legislative elections in 2026.
Bou Saab also explained that a debate was held on creating a Senate, a reform provided for by the Taif Agreement of 1989, recalling that discussions on this subject "began a year ago." In this context, the issue of a female quota also came up, "whether it should be applied within the electoral lists or only to the elected candidates," added Bou Saab.
Universal health care system
The joint committees also examined on Thursday a bill to establish a universal health care system, several electoral law proposals including that of expatriate voting, and a proposal to create a Senate.
"We have begun discussing the bill aiming to establish a mandatory universal health care coverage system," stated Bou Saab after the meeting, as quoted by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). "This proposal is very important because it greatly reduces the burden on citizens regarding hospitalization and medical care. It has required a lot of time, but we've reached a certain formula from which we can proceed toward its adoption," he said.
Abou Saab indicated that the text "requires a study ... especially on certain costs planned for the financing, on the management of the system, as well as on the remarks and opinions of the MPs," hence an estimate of "a one-month period for all parliamentary blocs and MPs, including the Finance and Health Ministries, to submit their remarks in writing to the secretariat of the joint committees, so that these can be subject to a debate before the adoption of the law by the committees."
Thursday's session was convened on Tuesday by Abou Saab, Nabih Berry. The concerned committees are those of Finance and Budget, Administration and Justice, Defense, Interior and Municipalities, Health, Labor and Social Affairs.