A Lebanese citizen votes in Tripoli during the municipal elections in North Lebanon, on May 11, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The Foreign Affairs Ministry requested on Wednesday that Lebanese diplomatic and consular missions abroad begin preparations for diaspora voting in the legislative elections scheduled for May.
The circular states that all lists of registered overseas voters have been sent to the Interior Ministry, which will review them before sending the validated provisional electoral lists back to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, prior to Feb. 1, 2026.
These lists will then be published and made available to all registered Lebanese abroad, so they can review and correct any potential errors within the legally prescribed timeframe.
According to the Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries, the number of registered overseas voters stands at exactly 151,985.
The procedures for diaspora voting continue to be a matter of debate in Lebanon. It remains unclear whether expatriates will vote solely for the six seats allocated to them under Article 112 of the electoral law (44/2017), or for all 128 MPs, as in previous elections.
The Lebanese Forces and their allies are calling for the suspension of Article 112, so that Lebanese abroad can vote for candidates in their ancestral villages, rather than being limited to the six seats designated specifically for the diaspora.
The debate is ongoing: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his ally Hezbollah support maintaining the six-seat option.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry also requested that each diplomatic mission with more than 200 registered voters prepare the voting setup in advance and draw up a detailed plan for the number of polling stations and their geographic distribution, estimating logistical and technical needs, as well as human resources required, indicating whether staff reinforcements are necessary.
The circular notes that the Interior Ministry will provide essential electoral materials (ballot boxes, lists of voters, letterhead paper, envelopes, and ink), which should not be included in the estimations.
The circular also emphasizes the need to transmit all requested information and data to the Foreign Affairs Ministry within two weeks.
