With no quorum, Lebanon’s parliament leaves elections hanging—the details

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Mariella Succar 

Only 48 lawmakers, the vast majority from the Loyalty to the Resistance, Development and Liberation, and Strong Lebanon blocs, attended Parliament on Monday.

The required quorum of 65 was not reached, preventing the legislative session from convening. Eight items left over from Monday’s earlier session remained on the agenda.

The lawmakers who were present insisted on holding the elections under the current law, which allocates six seats to Lebanese expatriates provided they register in advance to participate.

Those who want to vote for seats in their home districts must travel to Lebanon. Supporters of the existing law said its implementation is both possible and straightforward.

In contrast, lawmakers from the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb, the Change bloc, and some independents—while still advocating for amending the law to allow expatriates to vote for all 128 members of parliament—did not close the door on holding elections under the existing law.

They said this was meant to block any attempt to delay the vote and extend the current parliament’s term.

One of the most troubling outcomes of Monday’s session was that no political group knows, or has declared, what the next step will be.

Will there be elections or an extension of parliament’s mandate? If elections are held, under which law will they take place? What will happen to expatriate voting? And most importantly, will any political party dare bear the consequences of failing to hold the parliamentary elections—first and foremost President Joseph Aoun, who is still at the beginning of his term?

Some argue the ultimate answer may lie abroad: if the international community wants elections, they will take place on time. If they are delayed, the reason could be to keep Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government in place, which is seen as more favorable in dealing with Hezbollah and its weapons.