Parliament in focus: Expatriate voting rights take center stage as Lebanon’s lawmakers reconvene

Report by Joe Farchakh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Once again, all focus is turning to Lebanon’s parliament as the legislative session called by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri resumes the agenda of the September 29 session, which previously failed to reach quorum before completing discussion of the proposed bills.

Among the most notable is a $250 million World Bank reconstruction loan. The Tuesday session is also expected to conclude by closing the minutes of the previous session, thereby enacting the laws that were approved at that time.

According to LBCI sources, a parliamentary majority is expected to secure the required quorum. Key participants include members of the National Moderation Bloc, whose sources said their attendance this time follows a previous boycott intended to allow dialogue on the electoral law and the voting rights of Lebanese abroad. They emphasized that the boycott was not intended to be permanent.

Political tensions, however, are expected to rise in the coming days.

The boycotting bloc is maintaining its position, linking its return to parliament to the inclusion of a repeated urgent draft law granting expatriates the right to vote for all 128 MPs while abroad. The bloc considers bypassing this clause a continuation of what it calls constitutional violations and excessive control of parliament by the speaker.

Sources close to the boycotting group warn that the general assembly could be reduced to handling only the budget when it is referred, which would inevitably freeze legislative work and disrupt constitutional deadlines.

Between the participating and boycotting blocs, talks began with MPs from the Hezbollah-Amal Movement political duo. 

Notably absent was the Free Patriotic Movement, which insists its position is clear, as announced by its leader Gebran Bassil: maintaining the six parliamentary seats allocated for expatriates while also preserving the right of all Lebanese abroad to vote for all 128 MPs, allowing them the freedom to choose between voting for the six seats or the full parliament.

The round of discussions began in Baabda, where President Joseph Aoun stressed that the final decision rests with parliament, but that the rights of Lebanese abroad must be respected.

Tuesday’s session, therefore, represents a new test between those who see a return to legislation as a path to activating state institutions and those who consider it a concession to a unilateral approach dominating parliament. It is also a key moment to determine whether dialogue remains possible before the country slips again into an open political confrontation.