Diaspora disengagement: Lebanese expat voter registration for 2026 elections drops sharply compared to 2022

Report by Maroun Nassif, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi  

The number of Lebanese expatriates registering to vote in the 2026 elections remains significantly lower than in 2022, according to figures obtained by LBCI.

As of November 11, 2025, 41 days after registration opened for non-resident Lebanese voters, the Interior and Municipalities Ministry had received 39,325 registration forms from the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry. 

After verification by the Directorate General of Personal Status, 38,716 were approved.

In comparison, on November 10, 2021, the same point in the registration period for the 2022 elections, 101,088 Lebanese abroad had registered—a difference of 61,763 fewer registrants this year.

The 38,716 registered expatriates are distributed by continent as follows: 15,888 in Europe (compared to 34,370 in 2021), 8,123 in North America (down from 21,322), 5,819 in Asia (compared to 24,581), 5,563 in Africa (down from 9,163), 2,949 in Oceania (compared to 9,327), and 374 in Latin America (down from 2,325).

France leads the European registrations with 5,919 Lebanese expatriates. In North America, the United States ranks first with 4,154 registrants. Australia tops Oceania with 2,938, while the Ivory Coast leads Africa with 2,309, and Brazil ranks first in Latin America with just 198.

All data cited in this report comes from the Interior and Municipalities Ministry. 

However, the Foreign Affairs Ministry did not cooperate with LBCI's request for official registration data. 

Despite LBCI submitting a formal inquiry to the office of Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji under Lebanon's Access to Information Law, no response was received—raising the question of why the ministry is withholding the expatriate voter data and to what end.