Hajjar says ministry committed to holding elections on time
Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said Monday that his ministry is committed to holding the May 2026 parliamentary elections based on the current law, noting that the law stipulates Nov. 20 as a final deadline for expat registration.
“I remind of the period that preceded the municipal and mayoral elections, when there were doubts about their organization, but we held them on time,” Hajjar said in parliament.
He added that he had started coordinating with Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji weeks ago, hoping the expat registration process would kick off within days from Rajji’s return from abroad.
“We would have around a month and 20 days for registration,” Hajjar said.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri threatened Monday to adjourn a legislative session after MP Ali Hassan Khalil of Berri’s bloc accused the Lebanese Forces of not wanting parliamentary elections and a verbal clash ensued. The session was eventually adjourned to Tuesday after walkouts led to a loss of quorum.
During the session, Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel asked Hajjar whether the elections can be organized according to the current law and the latter said that it is not possible.
“Stop thinking of bypassing the current law,” Berri responded, to which Gemayel said: “We don’t want to vote for the 128 MPs (abroad), we cant the six seats (stipulated by the current law), can they implement the law?”
MP Ali Fayyad of Hezbollah meanwhile noted that expat voting in general creates a confessional representation problem, arguing that Hezbollah cannot stage proper electoral campaigns abroad while its rivals can. He added that accordingly Hezbollah prefers that expats vote for only six newly-introduced seats and not the current 128.
MP Farid al-Khazen meanwhile wrote on X: “What we’re witnessing today in parliament signals that the postponement train has departed.”
Source: Naharnet
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