Lebanese Consul Joseph Habib speaks during a meeting with President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Credit: X/@LBpresidency)
BEIRUT – President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that parliamentary elections scheduled for May must be held on time, amid growing pressure to postpone until the summer over expatriate voting and electoral law disputes.
“Parliamentary elections must take place on their scheduled date because they strengthen our credibility abroad,” Aoun told members of the Lebanese consular corps, according to remarks published by the presidency on X. “They are an integral part of the reform process, and reform cannot be implemented selectively.”
The issue of expatriate voting remains a key point of contention in Parliament. Parties, led by the Lebanese Forces, are pushing to amend the electoral law to allow Lebanese citizens abroad to vote for all 128 MPs, as they did in the past two elections, rather than for six seats reserved for the diaspora as per the 2017 electoral law. The latter is backed by Amal, Hezbollah and their allies, with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pushing for his position.
Aoun himself had raised the possibility earlier this month of a “technical” delay to allow expatriates to vote for the full 128 seats rather than the six designated diaspora seats. He argued that such a delay would not amount to a real postponement.
“One or two months, or even more, does not constitute a postponement,” Aoun said in an interview with Tele-Liban marking the end of his first year in office. He stressed, however, that he opposed organizing the elections “in a year or two” or extending Parliament’s term once again.
Echoing remarks he made a day earlier, Aoun also urged members of the consular corps to “convey the true image of Lebanon, and not the one some seek to distort or misrepresent.”
Bou Saab: Berri insists on elections in May under current law
Also on Wednesday, speaking from Ain al-Tineh after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Berri was firm that parliamentary elections should be held on schedule and under the existing electoral law.
According to Bou Saab, Berri stressed that "the elections will take place at the beginning of May, on the scheduled date and according to the current law," adding that the government has until February to convene the electoral colleges as required. Bou Saab urged MPs to proceed on that basis and to clearly state whether it is capable of implementing the current law.
The MP added that President Berri "does not want to enter into amendments". "He wants the current law to be applied on time, at the beginning of May," he insisted. "We are asking the government today to tell us whether it is able to organise the elections in constituency 16 and, if not, to propose a solution," he stressed. "If there are points that are not clear to him, he must express them now, in order to avoid a situation where elections are held throughout Lebanon except in a single constituency, which could allow anyone to challenge the electoral process," he explained.
He added that Berri opposes reopening the law for amendments, insisting that it be applied "on time, at the beginning of May." Bou Saab added that the government must clarify whether it can organize elections in constituency 16, which represents Lebanese diaspora "and, if not, to propose a solution."
If there are unresolved issues, Bou Saab argued, they should be raised immediately to avoid a scenario in which elections are held nationwide except in a single constituency — a situation that could expose the process to legal challenges.
Bou Saab noted that the government has already forwarded an urgent draft bill proposing several measures, including the cancellation or one-time suspension of constituency 16 — as was done in the previous electoral cycle — as well as the creation of 'mega-centers' for voting. He added that the government also has a report prepared under the current law by a joint commission involving the foreign affairs and interior ministries.
"This report indicates that there are 100,000 solutions for organizing elections in constituency 16, while mentioning some obstacles to its implementation. However, this report did not reach Parliament in accordance with the required legal frameworks. It cannot therefore study it," he said.
He also warned that any attempt to amend the law — particularly to allow expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs rather than only designated diaspora seats — would "require reopening voter registration deadlines." That step, he said, would inevitably mean postponing the election.
"Everyone says they want elections on time, with amendments," Bou Saab said, arguing that reopening deadlines would contradict that goal. He reiterated that Berri does not want to change the current law.
