MPs propose bill to allow expatriates to vote for all parliamentarians
Several lawmakers presented a bill to Parliament on Friday aimed at allowing Lebanese expatriates to vote from their countries of residence based on the district of their region of origin, not for the six MPs reserved for the diaspora, as stipulated in the 2017 electoral law. Member of Parliament Georges Okais, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, explained that "expatriates should be able to vote for the 128 deputies according to the district of the region they originate from in Lebanon to truly participate in Lebanese political life and not just for six MPs reserved for the diaspora, as the law stipulates."
The 2017 electoral law was the first to enshrine the voting rights of expatriates from their country of residence. However, it included a clause allocating six MPs to the diaspora, one per continent, from which they should choose, in addition to the 128 MPs, which many observers consider unfairly restrictive. However, this clause was not fully implemented during the 2022 legislative elections. While expatriates were able to vote, they did so based on their district of origin in Lebanon, without the six diaspora MPs being added to the total number of parliamentarians. An amendment to the law had been exceptionally adopted for that single election. The clause of the six MPs reserved for the diaspora would apply to the next legislative elections in 2026.
This proposal was presented to Parliament on Friday by MPs Georges Okais (Lebanese Forces), Faysal al-Sayegh (Progressive Socialist Party), Michel Doueihy, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Melhem Khalaf, and Najat Aoun Saliba (protest), but it was signed by many MPs from various political affiliations.
According to their statement, the proposal concerns a legislation that carries the character of double urgency to amend electoral law 144/2017, granting expatriates the right to vote for all members of Parliament, "enshrining their stable and definitive constitutional right to choose their representatives in Lebanon."
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