Postponement of parliamentary elections looms

BEIRUT —On the eve of Thursday’s parliamentary session, tensions are rising over the electoral law after Speaker Nabih Berri again excluded a proposed amendment allowing expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs from the agenda.

These deadlocks have now led to speculation about postponing the legislative elections set for May 2026, despite all parties having previously insisted the polls would proceed on time. And it was Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab himself who set the tone Wednesday from Baabda.

Following a meeting with the president, Bou Saab said Joseph Aoun "wants all MPs to attend the legislative session because there are laws to be studied that matter to citizens, such as reform laws and others linked to agreements with the World Bank."

He reminded that "paralysis harms the Lebanese, the government, and the [Aoun] mandate, especially given Lebanon's difficult conditions." "We need to legislate," he stressed.

"We discussed the legislative elections and current obstacles blocking them, as quarrels and showdowns won’t lead to the polls. Elections and amendments to the electoral law can only be achieved through political consensus," Bou Saab added during a press conference.

He also said he was "in favor" of allowing Lebanese emigrants to vote for all 128 parliamentarians, "but that would mean reopening registration" for overseas voters.

"That would cause a technical postponement of the elections, meaning the polls wouldn’t be held before August," the deputy speaker went on.

"I told those who vote for me and are abroad not to register. If they register, they’ll vote for the six diaspora MPs. I tell them to come here to vote," he added.

While the Lebanese Forces (LF) and the Kataeb had already announced their decision to boycott the parliamentary session, the “National Moderation” bloc, mostly composed of ex-Hariri Sunni MPs, confirmed Wednesday that it would participate in order to allow the adoption of "important laws for citizens."

In a statement, the bloc recalled its initial aim "was to reach a compromise on holding the legislative elections with the necessary amendments ensuring the diaspora vote."

"Unfortunately, things did not turn out as expected," the statement said. The bloc now grants "a new chance for a compromise to be reached" and calls on Berri "to include on the agenda of the first legislative session the draft election law sent by the government."

‘A mute demon’

On X, LF leader Samir Geagea reacted harshly. "Any MP who attends tomorrow’s [Thursday’s] session will, knowingly or not, have handed Speaker Berri a blank check for his practices in Parliament.

Anyone who remains silent in the face of wrongdoing is a mute demon." The day before, he had already accused Berri of having "turned" the chamber into "a farm" and called to "put pressure on MPs not to attend the session." Geagea added, "Contrary to what the other camp claims, this is not a blockade of Parliament, but quite the opposite: it's a way to revive it."

Without naming Bou Saab, Geagea criticized his comments from Baabda on the need to legislate: "All this amounts to mistake upon mistake. The World Bank loans remain valid even if they are not approved during this period."

Moreover, any law passed in such an atmosphere would be a flawed law, adopted in a flawed manner, by a parliament itself managed in a flawed way," he continued. He concluded: "Anyone who truly cares for citizens’ interests and living conditions must, above all, work together to put an end to the dysfunctions that currently characterize Parliament’s management."

After attending the Foreign Affairs Committee, Democratic Gathering MP Wael Abou Faour said that "the parliamentary committees’ discussions on the electoral law bode ill due to the absence of political compromise."

He warned that "any delay in crafting such a compromise increases the risks for the legislative elections and deals a severe blow to the process of state-building and restoring authority, undertaken with the new presidential mandate and government."

Stressing "the principle of holding elections on schedule," he added that his bloc is "ready to consider a technical postponement not exceeding two months at most and to guarantee full participation of overseas citizens in the legislative elections."

That evening, the Democratic Gathering bloc announced its participation in Thursday's legislative session, while expressing openness to a technical postponement, limited to two months if necessary.

For his part, MP Ali Khreis affirmed that the Amal-Hezbollah tandem supports holding the legislative elections on schedule under the current law, considering that calls to amend the law at this stage effectively signal an unwillingness to hold the elections.

Meanwhile, several Lebanese diaspora groups sent a letter to the parliament speaker calling for the electoral law proposal and the government bill to be added to the legislative session's agenda.

Among the signatories were Kulluna Irada, Meghterbin Mejtemiin, the Lebanese Executives Council, Sawti, and The Lebanese Diaspora.

These groups recalled that "this right is constitutional and has been guaranteed since 2018, and maintaining the current system of six seats for expatriates undermines the principle of equality among all Lebanese."

‘Blackmail’ and Qleyaat airport

On another front, the joint committees in charge of operating the René Moawad Airport in Qleyaat called on "all Akkar, North and Lebanese MPs to attend Thursday's legislative session, due to its national importance, especially for including and voting on the public-private partnership (PPP) law, which would enable the Civil Aviation Authority to prepare tender documents for international companies interested in the airport concession and operation."

They stressed that "passing this point is a key step in reviving the airport, given its immediate positive impact on economic development, job creation, and stimulating activity in Akkar and the North in general."

On this issue, Geagea accused Berri of "blackmailing northern MPs through the Qleyaat airport file." He recalled that "this item was already passed at the previous session and became enforceable under the chamber’s internal rules." "We all want Qleyaat airport and have fought hard for it, but it is unacceptable for Speaker Berri to use it as blackmail against us," he added.