Member of Parliament Hassan Fadlallah. (Credit: NNA.)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah on Sunday slammed calls by several parliamentary blocs to amend the electoral law to let expatriates vote for all 128 MPs, instead of just the six seats currently allocated to them.
"Some want to amend the current law under the pretext of allowing emigrants to vote for the 128 seats, but as far as we are concerned, there is a law in force and the government is responsible for enforcing it and issuing the relevant implementation decrees," the MP argued, speaking at a Hezbollah ceremony in the town of Bint Jbeil, South Lebanon, in honor of the victims of the last war with Israel, which escalated a year ago, in September 2024.
According to Fadlallah, "the law should not be amended just because certain political parties wish to do so in hopes of altering the internal balance of power." The Amal-Hezbollah alliance opposes the emigrant vote for the 128 MPs, their critics accuse them of fearing that their monopoly over the representation of the Shiite community could be broken by expatriates not subject to their influence in their Lebanese strongholds.
"If they want changes, we could apply Article 22 of the Constitution, which stipulates that parliamentary elections should not be held on a sectarian quota basis, with the creation of a Senate to represent the different communities. And those who want to show a certain popular majority in Lebanon only need to call for an amendment to the Taif Agreement, so we move toward a modern, non-confessional electoral law. Then the majority would elect a parliament that will decide the shape of the government," he said.
In his speech, th MP reiterated his party's commitment to its weapons "to liberate South Lebanon," implicitly accusing the government of not doing enough to prevent daily Israeli attacks despite the cease-fire signed last November.
The Nawaf Salam government has taken decisions toward disarming militias and ensuring that all weapons are in the hands of the state, and the Lebanese army has prepared a plan to that effect, but Hezbollah never misses an opportunity to express its refusal of these decisions.
