Lebanon Officially on the Road to Elections

Dr. Paul M. Esber

Njmeh Square Clock (djedj pixabay commons)

Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar announced at the end of January that Lebanon’s Legislative elections are scheduled to be held across two days: May 3rd for external citizens (the diaspora), and May 10th for citizens residing within the Republic. Additionally, the Directorate General of Personal Status released the initial electoral lists. Citizens, whether at home or abroad have between February 01, 2026, and March 01, 2026, to check their registry details. Those interested may do so here. Although these official announcements instil confidence in the Government’s determination to hold elections on time, there remain apprehensions whether this can be implemented.

Diasporic organisations have been collectively campaigning since before the election of President Joseph Aoun in January 2025 for changes to be made to the existing elections law (No.44/2017). Article 112 of Law Number 44 calls for the creation of six seats – one for each continent, representing a lucky 6 of Lebanon’s 18 officially recognised sectarian communities – to be the conduits of representation for citizens living abroad, and referred to as District 16. This model of representation is referred to as discrete representation by political scientists. Although discrete representation is the de jure provision, it has been repeatedly ignored in both 2018 and 2022 by the de facto implementation of assimilated representation. In short, it is as if voters living abroad never left Lebanon and could subsequently vote according to their existing place of registration.

This de facto electoral situation is preferred by a majority of the Lebanese diaspora who are eligible to vote. Over the last year efforts by a group of 19 diasporic organisations accelerated to change Law No.44/2017 to make the de facto, de jure. In May 2025, draft legislation was introduced to parliament sponsored by 9 MPs, alongside a petition of support signed by a further 50/128 members of parliament. However no vote on its adoption was held because the parliament’s agenda was full, and Speaker Nabih Berri did not see the urgency to amend the agenda to include it. Since then the issue has passed back and forth from the Speaker to the Prime Minister with no amendment to the Elections Law. The state of affairs has led many to wonder if the elections would be cancelled in part (for the diaspora), in full (for all Lebanese), or postponed. This option it seems has not disappeared, with member of parliament Adib Abdel Massih due to release his political platform including a proposal to postpone the upcoming elections.

Considering the ongoing inconsistency between the de jure stipulation of discrete diasporic representation and the de facto precedence of assimilated representation set by the 2018 and 2022 elections, Abdel Massih has stated “it is impossible to hold elections on time”. Diasporic groups have expressed similar concerns over the last 10 months. A Recent statement declared:

“This rule is not feasible in the absence of the necessary implementing decrees, and with the government's repeated confirmation that it is not possible to organize voting for non-resident Lebanese without amending the current legal text”.

"هذه القاعدة غير قابلة للتنفيذ في ظل غياب المراسيم التطبيقية اللازمة، ومع تأكيد الحكومة المتكرر عدم إمكانية تنظيم اقتراع اللبنانيين غير المقيمين دون تعديل النص القانوني الحالي"

Interior Minister Hajjar has declared that “the funds are available” to conduct the elections according to the precedence of assimilated representation. His statements follow those made by the Salam government in December 2025. Questions remain, however. For example, with the existing Law, what implementation mechanism will facilitate out-of-country voting (OCV) for registered voters abroad? What will happen to the distribution of seats across the six continents if implicitly diaspora voters vote according to their existing domestic place of registration? Sources close to Speaker Berri have suggested as recently as early February that two separate implementing mechanisms, one for internal/domestic voters, and another for external/diasporic voters is the solution; and that no return to the assimilated representation of 2022 is possible under the current law.

When announcing the scheduled voting days, Interior Minister Hajjar stated that it was the Government’s responsibility to issue the implementing decrees. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Interior also noted the alternative possibility of the Government seeking a legislative amendment. Yet in light of time restraints, this avenue is unlikely to materialise; suggesting a last minute postponement or cancellation of diasporic voting remains if not on the table, underneath it.