Hajjar: Interior Ministry to conduct elections in May 2026, 'with complete neutrality, transparency'

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun met with Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar to discuss preparations underway across the Ministry's various units to hold the parliamentary elections on schedule next May, the state-run National News Agency reported Friday.

Hajjar stated that “the Interior Ministry is fully ready to carry out this national event under the best possible conditions, with complete neutrality and transparency.”

Aoun has repeatedly insisted on the need to hold the legislative elections scheduled for May 2026, "without postponement under any circumstances and with the participation of Lebanese in the diaspora."

The international community has also repeatedly insisted that the election be held on time without delay.

The participation of the diaspora in the upcoming elections has been a divisive issue in Lebanon for several months as 67 MPs, a clear majority of the 128-member chamber, have requested that the current electoral law be amended so that Lebanese abroad can vote from their country of residence for all metropolitan MPs, rather than just for six seats reserved for them, as stipulated in Article 112 of the current law.

The speaker categorically refuses any amendment, notably by not putting the issue on the Cabinet session agenda.