Parliamentary session: Diaspora seats fuel political divide as Lebanese parliament pushes through agenda

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi  

After an hour and a half of tense political discussions, Lebanese MPs opposing the allocation of six parliamentary seats to expatriates failed to disrupt a legislative session aimed at addressing multiple pending laws.

Members of the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, several Change MPs, and independents staged a walkout from the parliamentary hall in an attempt to obstruct the quorum. 

However, the session continued with 68 MPs in attendance, securing the required quorum.

The session remained valid due to the presence of MPs from the Amal-Hezbollah duo and their allies, as well as MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the Moderate Bloc, and the Tashnag Party. 

Despite their support for abolishing the six diaspora seats and having signed a draft amendment to the electoral law, MPs from the PSP, the Moderate Bloc, and Tashnag chose to attend, citing their refusal to obstruct state institutions.

At the start of the session, before the walkout, MPs Paula Yacoubian, Georges Adwan, and Michel Moawad attempted to convince Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to add the draft electoral law amendment to the agenda under an "accelerated and repeated" procedure. 

Berri rejected the request, noting that he has never fast-tracked such proposals when similar drafts are already under review by parliamentary committees. He suggested instead that the subcommittee meet weekly to expedite discussions and approval.

In response, MPs Kabalan Kabalan and Ali Fayad reminded the chamber that, according to the constitution, changes to the electoral law require a two-thirds majority in the Cabinet, questioning the attempt to push through amendments under an expedited process.

Meanwhile, FPM leader MP Gebran Bassil denounced the push to amend expatriate voting as an attempt to "hijack or eliminate" the six diaspora seats.

Despite the political standoff, the parliamentary session proceeded and approved several key items on the agenda, including additional funding for the Judges' Mutual Fund, financial allocations for Lebanese University professors, a law exempting victims of Israeli attacks from certain taxes and fees, and legislation canceling some fee increases from the 2015 budget.