Despite tensions and boycott, Parliament convenes first session since September

BEIRUT — The plenary session convened by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has begun Thursday morning after the quorum was reached, with 67 MPs present, as major blocs are boycotting the session, the state-run National News Agency reported Thursday.

The Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb are among the main parties boycotting the meeting, to denounce the constant refusal of Berri to include on the agenda a proposed amendment of the electoral law allowing expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs, and not just for six specific seats as the current law stipulates.

The session is expected to be an opportunity to move forward with the agenda begun on Sept. 29, before the session was cut short due to a lack of quorum triggered by the anti-Hezbollah bloc.

Since then, Berri tried twice to convene MPs again, but a majority did not show up, causing the session to be adjourned.

Key items include the opening of a credit line in the 2025 budget to finance salaries for retired public-sector employees, 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 bills and draft laws — particularly those related to reforms required by donor countries, such as combating tax evasion and the review of the Public – Private Partnership Law (adopted in 2017) — are also due to be debated.

If the LF and Kataeb refused to participate in the meeting, LF leader Samir Geagea accusing Berri of turning Parliament into “a farm”, other parties argued of the importance to legiferate.

Deputy Parliament Speaker, Elias Bou Saab, stated Wednesday that "the president [Joseph Aoun] wants all MPs to attend the legislative session because there are important laws for citizens to be studied, such as reform laws and others related to agreements with the World Bank," stressing "we need to legislate."