Aoun sends Parliament the draft law on expatriate voting

President Joseph Aoun signed a decree on Monday sending Parliament the draft law aimed at amending the electoral law, specifically regarding voting procedures for expatriates in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2026.

With an urgent double status, this draft law is expected to be immediately examined by Parliament, bypassing parliamentary committees.

Read more on this

Berri's pivotal moment: Under pressure and holding the keys

Approved by the Cabinet on Nov. 6, it specifically calls for suspending Article 112 of the electoral law (44/2017) to allow Lebanese abroad to vote for candidates running in all 128 metropolitan constituencies, rather than restricting their choices to six seats as stipulated by the current article.

Additionally, the text proposes pushing back the registration deadline for expatriates wishing to participate in the elections to Dec. 31. Under the law currently in force, this deadline is supposed to expire at midnight (Beirut time) on Thursday, Nov. 20.

The question therefore remains whether a vote can be held in Parliament in a plenary session before Thursday.

In case you missed this one

If voting abroad is canceled, expatriates will still be able to vote in Lebanon, assures foreign minister

87,067 expatriates registered

On Monday, the Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries reported that, to date, 87,067 applications from Lebanese citizens living abroad to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections have been registered. In a statement, they specified that "the Ministry of the Interior has received 56,764," of these requests, "which are currently being verified."

The two ministries renewed their appeal to Lebanese citizens living abroad, stressing that "there are only three days left before the registration deadline of Nov. 20," and urging them to "hurry to register their requests in order to preserve their right to vote and participate in the electoral process."

The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) has called on Lebanese expatriates to register to vote before next Thursday's deadline. "Given the authorities' refusal to apply the electoral law ... and the confusion and uncertainty among expatriates as to whether or not they are required to register to vote from their place of residence abroad ... we ask you to register," the FPM said in a statement on Monday.

For some analysis

Parliamentary elections: Is the diaspora vote more at risk than ever?

The FPM, like Hezbollah and its ally Amal, rejects the suspension of Article 112 of the 2017 electoral law (limiting the vote of Lebanese abroad to only six seats) during the 2026 legislative elections. "The government has so far refused to apply this law, thereby seriously jeopardizing your right to vote from abroad," the FPM further accuses, calling on its supporters abroad to register before Nov. 20. "Meeting this deadline guarantees your right to participate in the electoral process from your place of residence in the diaspora, especially if you are unable to come to Lebanon," the Aounist party continued.

Expatriate voting has been the subject of a heated standoff between rival political camps. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri categorically refuses to include any amendment to the electoral law on the agenda of a plenary session.

Berri's bloc (the Amal-Hezbollah tandem) is opposed to expanding expatriate voting, while on the other side, the Lebanese Forces (LF), the Kataeb and their anti-Hezbollah allies, as well as the Progressive Socialist Party, are campaigning for the diaspora's right to vote for all MPs.