New Parliament session aborted due to lack of quorum

BEIRUT — Tuesday's parliamentary session was canceled again after failing to reach quorum, with debate over diaspora voting stalling progress on electoral law amendments ahead of the May 2026 elections.

Only 61 MPs were present, three short of the required 64 needed to start the meeting. Among those present were MPs from the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), as well as MPs from the Democratic Gathering, allies of the Progressive Socialist Party.

Among the MPs who decided at the last minute to boycott the session were Sajjih Attieh of the National Moderation bloc (former Saad Hariri supporters), who announced this morning he would not attend the session.

Bou Saab calls for 'dialogue'

Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said, after the session was adjourned, that "the start of a solution to the ongoing political crisis" over the issue of diaspora voting "lies in the fact that the legislative session did not occur." This issue, he said, "requires legislation, not a boycott of legislative work."

He assured that a postponement of elections is "not currently under consideration." While stating that he personally supports the election of all 128 MPs by all Lebanese, both at home and abroad, he called for "dialogue within the chamber" and affirmed that "the position taken" by MPs in favor of amending the law "has been heard."

Critics of the current law are protesting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's refusal to include on the agenda an urgent draft law to amend the electoral law, allowing expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs, rather than limit their choice to six seats as stipulated by Article 112 of the text.

“The parliamentary majority has once again confirmed today that it is the guarantor of the proper functioning of legislative work and the preservation of the constitutional and democratic course of the institutions,” said Lebanese Forces MP Sethrida Geagea.

According to her, the MPs who boycotted the session “truly embody the image of a responsible mandate that reflects the people’s conscience and will.”

Change MP Melhem Khalaf — speaking on behalf of his colleagues Najat Aoun Saliba, Paula Yacoubian, Halima Kaakour, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Firas Hamdan and Yassine Yassine — said during a news conference that “the refusal to include a proposed law (...) constitutes a clear violation of the internal regulations and an infringement on the principle of equality among MPs in exercising their constitutional right to legislate and take parliamentary initiative.”

He deplored what he called a “paralysis of parliamentary work, turning Parliament from a collegial body that makes decisions according to established procedures into a selective institution that restricts MPs’ prerogatives.”

The session was intended to continue the examination of the draft and proposed laws on the Sept. 29 session's agenda.

Among the main items were the opening of a line of credit in the 2025 budget to fund pensions for public sector retirees, as well as a draft law concerning an agreement between Lebanon and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to implement the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project (LEAP).

Several other draft and proposed laws, including those related to reforms required by donor countries — such as tax evasion and the review of the public-private partnership law (adopted in 2017) — were also to be debated.