Different considerations govern expatriate voting, an issue on which Speaker Nabih Berri was adamant, declaring that “Bible and Quran precede electoral law,” meaning the article in question will not be amended under any circumstances.
This leaves us with two possibilities: either proceed with the law as it stands with District 16 included in the upcoming elections, or deal with it in a confrontational manner, which would obstruct the elections and threaten their scheduled timing.
Still, there is a paradox: the current government had formed a committee last June to study articles related to the mechanics of elections in District 16 and concluded that such amendments would affect the body of the law and therefore require Parliament’s involvement. And thus, it did not go back to a report that had already been drafted prior to the last elections in fall 2021 and that detailed an objective mechanism for expatriate voting in District 16, including its division across continents.
According to the report, the diaspora is considered one large district, not six small ones. Simulations showed that it would be impossible to allocate six seats to six confessions across six separate districts if more than one list were to win. This would make the electoral process unworkable. Hence, the district should be treated like any other element that forms one single electoral district.
As for the distribution of confessions across continents, the process would be based on voter registration ahead of each election. After expatriates register, the confession seat is allocated to the continent where it has the largest number of registered voters. For example, if Shias register more heavily in Africa than anywhere else, then the Shia seat would go to Africa. Once a confession’s seat is filled, the next seat is assigned to the following one in the hierarchy.
Another key point was related to candidacy, since some voices suggested placing conditions on candidates; for instance, requiring them to hold the nationality of the country in the continent where they are running, or to be residents there, or to have lived abroad for several years. However, the Legislation and Consultation Department at the Ministry of Justice ruled definitively that any Lebanese citizen who meets the candidacy requirements inside Lebanon can automatically run anywhere they choose.
Yet, in a striking twist, former Minister of Interior Judge Bassam Mawlawi and former Minister of Foreign Affairs late Abdallah Bou Habib never signed the decision after drafting it; perhaps being aware that signing would automatically put District 16 into effect.
The issue now lies in the urgent draft law submitted to Parliament. If no legislative sessions are held to pass it, the next parliamentary elections will proceed under District 16 despite all opposition. This means parties must mobilize their voting apparatus abroad in order to register expatriates.
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