MPs call for expatriate voting bill to be placed on legislative agenda

MPs Georges Okais, Michel Douaihy, Faisal Sayegh, Ahmad Kheir, Adib Abdel-Massih and Ibrahim Mneimneh held a press conference at the Parliament building on Tuesday, during which they called for the draft law on expatriate voting to be placed on the agenda of the upcoming legislative session.

This call was issued by "nine MPs who signed the urgent reiterated draft law on May 9, 2025, regarding the vote of non-resident expatriates," said Douaihy, adding that a meeting of the Parliament's bureau would be held tomorrow.

"We ask the parliament speaker and the bureau to include this proposal on the agenda of the next plenary session. This is a political, legal and constitutional issue that touches on the principle of justice and equality among Lebanese and concerns the right of expatriates to participate in determining their fate. Time is of the essence, and Parliament must therefore settle this issue as soon as possible," he said.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri blocked an amendment proposal last June 30 that would have allowed expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs, as was the case in 2018 and 2022. The head of the legislature wants to enforce a provision of the current electoral law adopted in 2017, under which six additional MPs would be elected solely by the diaspora, in addition to the 128. However, the law remains vague on the implementation of the six-seat system, as it does not specify the mechanism in concrete terms.