In a presidential statement, Lebanese President Michel Aoun “issued a proclamation asking electoral organizations to hold elections for members of parliament for individuals living in Lebanon on May 15.”
According to the announcement, while Lebanese living abroad will vote on May 6 and 8, employees who are involved in the election process will vote three days earlier on May 12.
In late October, except for the bloc of Strong Lebanon, the Lebanese parliament decided to move the date of the parliamentary elections from May 8 to March 27. The Strong Lebanon group, which controls 23 of the assembly’s 128 seats, petitioned the Constitutional Council in November on measures passed by parliament, including the vote date.
On December 21, Tannous Mechleb, President of Lebanon’s Constitutional Council, reported that no decision had been made on the appeal filed by the Strong Lebanon coalition about election law modifications.
The votes are expected to be fiercely contested, as the Arab country has been battling a severe economic crisis, as well as fuel and medical scarcity, since late 2019.
The problem has deteriorated further as a result of a diplomatic conflict with the Gulf states sparked by criticism of the Yemen war by the now-resigned Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi.
