The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, on April 26, 2025. Photo taken from his X account.
The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, announced Saturday that he had signed, along with six prospective candidates for the theoretical 16th constituency for Lebanese abroad, a formal notice addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The move came a day after the ministry refused to register a candidacy for the legislative elections scheduled for May.
In a statement, the FPM said the formal notice ‘’establishes a legal and judicial dispute with the ministry,’’ which could be pursued ‘’in the event of continued refusal to implement the law and guarantee expatriates’ rights to vote, representation and candidacy from abroad.’’
On Friday, the ministry justified its refusal to register the candidacy of Abbas Fawaz — a Shiite businessman and former associate of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry — by citing the absence of implementing decrees for the 16th constituency. The constituency, created under the 2017 electoral law, provides for six parliamentary seats reserved for expatriates. Its implementation has become the subject of a political dispute between those seeking to maintain it — including the Shiite tandem Amal and Hezbollah, as well as the FPM — and those who argue that expatriates should instead be allowed to vote for all 128 members of Parliament.
Last week, the Legislation and Consultation Committee at the Justice Ministry ruled that expatriates could not vote for all 128 MPs in the absence of regulatory measures defining the 16th constituency.
Saying it aimed to ‘’protect the right of diaspora Lebanese to vote and run as candidates from abroad,’’ the FPM called on the ministry to ‘’assume its responsibilities’’ and accused it of ‘’failing to implement the electoral law,’’ particularly with regard to expatriate representation. The Aounist party added that ‘’the implementation mechanisms are clearly defined, based on reports issued by joint committees between the Interior and Foreign Ministries, in accordance with legal provisions.’’
