Lebanon’s Cabinet weighs multiple proposals as disagreement persists on electoral law

Report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Efforts are continuing until the last moment to prevent a new political crisis over Lebanon’s electoral law, as ministers remain divided over the final draft.

Sources told LBCI that there is an attempt to merge the proposals presented by the justice and foreign ministers into a single draft. Both versions eliminate the 16th district and its six seats. 

The plan is to refer the text to Parliament not as a draft law, but as a correspondence — a move meant to avoid confrontation with the legislature.

This approach aims to sidestep a clash with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who insists that the current law remains in force and could block any new draft or proposal from being placed on the Parliament’s agenda.

Three proposals, previously discussed by the ministerial committee, are expected to be raised at the Cabinet meeting in Baabda on Thursday, according to a copy obtained by LBCI:

1. Amending the current law to allow Lebanese residents abroad to vote for candidates in their home districts in Lebanon, covering all 128 parliamentary seats.

2. Maintaining the existing law while introducing a new draft to address its gaps and flaws.

3. Adopting a new electoral draft that excludes overseas voting altogether, allowing non-residents to vote in their home districts only after a political agreement is reached on the matter.

The interior minister, for his part, proposed replacing the magnetic voting card with a QR code system due to logistical challenges in producing the cards.

Although this hybrid proposal appears to offer a temporary solution, it remains uncertain and far from final. 

The divisions within the government persist, and according to informed sources, there are growing concerns that the issue could turn into a political landmine — one that might derail the session or paralyze it altogether, even without any party resigning despite threats to do so.