The fate of non-resident Lebanese voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections remains uncertain, despite the critical importance of their participation. The 2022 elections showed that their votes are far from marginal and can even be decisive in certain electoral districts.
In the 2022 elections, around 244,000 expatriates registered to vote, with approximately 60 percent turnout. This figure reflects a growing desire among expatriates to influence political life and the country’s future, particularly in the wake of the October 17 uprising and ongoing financial and economic crises.
The current debate centers on whether expatriates will vote in the 16th electoral district, which is allocated six seats as stipulated by Article 122 of the electoral law, or whether they will return to voting in their original districts, like residents, if the law is amended.
This question sparked sharp divisions in Parliament during a legislative session held on Monday, prompting walkouts by several MPs and accusations against Speaker Nabih Berri of obstructing the legislative process.
Traditional political forces are now attempting to curtail the role of expatriates by proposing changes to their voting mechanism or transferring their seats to a “special expatriate district” abroad, moves that could strip them of their influence in local constituencies.
According to statements by various political figures, major parties—particularly the Shiite duo Amal and Hezbollah—fear that expatriate votes could work against them, which is why they are seeking to derail discussions around amending the law in Parliament.
MP Paula Yacoubian told Daraj that the previous elections clearly demonstrated a broad base of expatriate support for reformist forces, in an effort to challenge the dominance of traditional parties. She added, “The battle over expatriate votes is the mother of all battles in the upcoming elections,” emphasizing that this issue lies at the heart of the current political struggle.
MPs Stage Protest Walkout
The legislative session held earlier this week included 13 agenda items, but made no mention of a proposal to amend Article 122 of the electoral law, triggering strong objections within Parliament.
MP Melhem Khalaf opened the floor for debate on the issue, followed by MPs Georges Adwan, Paula Yacoubian, Elias Jarade, Michel Mouawad, and Firas Hamdan. They accused Speaker of the Parliament Berri of violating the precedent he himself had established, which mandates that urgent draft laws be included in the first legislative session following their submission.
Yacoubian told Daraj, “Speaker of the Parliament Berri is directly responsible for not including the urgent draft law that would allow expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs, claiming it’s still under committee review.” She pointed out that this justification contradicts Article 109 of the Parliament’s internal rules, which clearly requires the inclusion of urgent draft laws in the next legislative session after submission.
Yacoubian also noted that Berri’s approach to urgent draft laws today contrasts sharply with his previous stance. “If we review the session minutes from 2004 and 2008, we find that Berri used to encourage MPs to submit urgent draft laws and promised to include them directly on the agenda of the next session.” Similarly, MP Georges Adwan stated that this is the first time in 30 years an urgent draft law has not been placed on the legislative session’s agenda.
Berri’s refusal not only violates parliamentary procedure, but also reveals a clear political position on the issue of expatriate voting, now a pivotal battleground in the upcoming elections.
In contrast, Berri insisted that the proposed law is currently being reviewed by a subcommittee and will be discussed in a session later this week. Tensions rose when MP Georges Okais threatened a walkout if the proposal to amend Article 122 was not added to the agenda. Berri responded: “I don’t take threats, the session will continue.” Members of the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party, several reformist MPs, and others walked out in protest, although quorum remained.
Parliament is divided over how to handle expatriate voting. The Free Patriotic Movement and the Shiite duo support maintaining the six dedicated seats for non-residents, as stipulated in Article 122. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, the Democratic Gathering bloc, and reformist MPs back the amendment.
Before the session, MP Georges Okais stated that MPs would raise their voices to affirm expatriates’ right to participate in political life and help rebuild the political system. He described their vote as a “constitutional right being denied by the insistence on enforcing the 16th district, and the refusal to present an urgent draft law backed by blocs representing the parliamentary majority.” He added, “The goal isn’t to break quorum, but to make withdrawal a legitimate form of protest.” He concluded, “The battle has begun and won’t end until expatriates gain their right to vote.”
MP Bilal Abdallah of the Democratic Gathering stressed that his bloc opposes obstructing constitutional institutions but affirms each party’s right to act as it sees fit. He noted that while his group supports expatriates’ right to vote, it also opposes walkouts. Abdallah added, “The current electoral law is sectarian and has set us back 50 years.”
MP Halima Kaakour emphasized that efforts to amend Article 122 began even before entering Parliament, stressing that both residents and expatriates should enjoy equal rights. She called the sectarian division of the six expatriate seats “the worst,” and criticized Berri’s “arbitrary handling of urgent draft laws.”
MP Firas Hamdan reaffirmed expatriates’ right to vote in their original districts, saying: “Expatriates are not just tools for remittances and economic support. They are not ATMs.” MP Paula Yacoubian echoed this, telling Daraj: “We can’t ask expatriates to send money and invest in the country while denying them political rights.” Allowing them to vote for all 128 MPs, she said, affirms their real role as partners in political decision-making.
MP Qassem Hashem of the Development and Liberation Bloc noted that a subcommittee is currently studying electoral issues and that it would be logical to refer any serious proposals to this committee for unified conclusions. He argued that “electing six MPs without equal opportunity is unfair, especially under today’s political conditions and regional isolation.” He also asked, “How can candidates truly connect with voters if they can’t even enter certain countries to campaign?”
In response, MPs signed a parliamentary petition calling for the application of Articles 109 and 112 of the internal rules, which require urgent draft laws to be presented to the full chamber for an initial vote on urgency, and then on the content of the law if urgency is upheld and the law is not referred to specialized committees.
Background on the Amendment
For decades, Lebanese citizens elected their representatives in Parliament using a majoritarian system. Under the new law, however, they vote using a proportional representation system, which divides the country into 15 electoral districts. Voters cast their ballot for a single list and may select one preferential candidate from within that list.
Lebanese law did not regulate expatriate voting until the passage of Law No. 25/2008, though this law was not implemented during the 2009 elections. Law No. 44/2017 later guaranteed the right of non-resident Lebanese citizens to vote from abroad, allocating a 16th electoral district with six seats for the diaspora. This law raised the number of parliamentary seats to 134, with plans to reduce them back to 128 in the 2026 elections by removing those six diaspora seats from the sects to which they had been allocated.
In May 2025, nine MPs introduced an expedited draft law to amend Law No. 44/2017, specifically the provisions related to expatriate voting. The proposal called for applying the same voting procedures for expatriates as for residents, granting them the right to vote for all 128 MPs, rather than restricting them to six seats. Sixty-eight MPs and parliamentary blocs expressed support and signed a petition backing the amendment.
Article 122, which is at the heart of the current controversy, calls for one diaspora seat per continent, allocated based on sectarian quotas. Political analyst Tarek Wehbe explained to Daraj that this article “reveals a fundamental flaw in how the law approaches diaspora voting. ” He added that “the legislator who came up with the idea of assigning six MPs to six continents imagined a geographic distribution, but Lebanese reality is based on sectarian balances, which practically translates into dividing the seats equally between Muslims and Christians. How can a candidate in Australia campaign to voters in Europe or Africa?”
MP Ali Fayyad of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc claimed that the demand for diaspora voting by home district doesn’t reflect the will of expatriates. However, over 13,000 expatriates signed a petition in support of this proposal. A joint statement issued by 16 diaspora groups stated: “Based on our constitutional right to vote without discrimination, and recognizing the importance of voting as a guarantee of continued political participation, we are proposing amendments to the law.” The statement added that “creating a hybrid electoral district that spans six continents makes campaigning nearly impossible for candidates and dilutes the impact of the diaspora vote.”
Leaders of Lebanese political parties in Australia also issued a statement demanding an amendment to Article 122 to allow expatriates to vote in their home districts, just like resident citizens.
Expatriates and Political Change
According to the Arab Reform Initiative, expatriates recorded higher turnout rates than domestic voters in the most recent parliamentary elections. Diaspora participation rose from 59 percent in 2018 to 63 percent in 2022, while local turnout dropped slightly from 49 percent to 48 percent.
Expatriate votes threaten to disrupt the power balance of certain political forces in Parliament. The last election revealed a shift in political preferences among the diaspora, fueling political change in Lebanon. According to the Arab Reform Initiative, the Lebanese Forces remained the most popular party among expatriate voters, with nearly identical results to 2018. By contrast, support for the Free Patriotic Movement and the Amal Movement declined significantly. Meanwhile, candidates from opposition and reformist movements received 34 percent of the diaspora vote, up from just 6 percent in 2018.
Lebanese expatriates are generally less influenced by clientelist networks due to their distance from Lebanon’s sectarian and political patronage systems. This grants them greater freedom at the ballot box, and many tend to vote against the ruling establishment. MP Paula Yacoubian noted that “many parties are clearly colluding to undermine diaspora voting,” adding that in the 2022 elections, nine of the MPs from the Change bloc were elected by diaspora votes, compared to just four by domestic votes.
The Lebanese Constitution guarantees equality among citizens in rights and duties, making the failure to adopt these proposed amendments an injustice against a large segment of the population. Wehbe told Daraj, “There are more than two million Lebanese living abroad. They are not just traditional expatriates. They hold Lebanese citizenship, regularly visit the country, and have the right to vote without legal obstacles.” He added: “It makes no sense to allocate just six seats to this population while 128 seats are reserved for four million residents.”
Wahbeh also argued that Speaker Nabih Berri remains the main obstacle to amending Article 122, especially after he categorically rejected the proposal. He warned that failure to pass the amendment this month would trigger a serious crisis regarding constitutional timelines. “Without meeting these deadlines, we are essentially proceeding without direction and blocking any chance of real reform in the structure of Parliament or political engagement, whether with the diaspora or with local citizens,” he said.
As pressure from the diaspora mounts, Parliament continues to obstruct expatriates’ constitutional right to meaningful participation in Lebanon’s democratic process. The question remains: will the logic of the Constitution and equality prevail, or will sectarian interests and political calculations continue to dictate who gets to participate in shaping Lebanon’s future?
