Pressure is building on Lebanon's government to intervene over a law that would severely restrict the voting rights of the diaspora in next year's election.
It is a dispute that has sharply divided the 128-seat parliament, while MPs who seek to overturn the law have now also taken their case to President Joseph Aoun. The diaspora law dispute was not initially included on the agenda of a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon, but was still discussed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and his ministers, although no decision was taken.
Beforehand, he had met the same delegation of MPs who saw the President the day before over the issue. One of those MPs, Michel Moawad, said the delegation had impressed upon Mr Salam the need for the government to send an urgent draft bill to parliament to “correct” the current text.
Under the law, which dates back to 2017 but was never implemented in the 2018 or 2022 elections, diaspora voters would only be allowed to cast their votes for a newly created bloc of six MPs, as opposed to all 128 seats as has previously been the case. Critics say this is unfair and that it treats the diaspora as second-class citizens.
More than half of current MPs have sought to overturn the offending article in parliament, but have come up against powerful Speaker Nabih Berri, who supports the law and has refused to add fast-track amendments of it to the parliamentary agenda. His critics say he is overstepping his role as Speaker, but Mr Berri has remained steadfast thus far.
The alternative, said one political source, is for the cabinet to draft a bill to be sent to the legislature so that “parliament is obliged” to discuss it. While this would need a majority of the cabinet, it is thought that would not be a problem.
While some ministers were nominated by Mr Berri's Amal Movement and its Shiite ally Hezbollah – who both support the law – they would probably be in the minority. Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi has already submitted a draft bill to the government to overturn the current diaspora voting law.
But currently Mr Aoun and Mr Salam are giving parliament time to try to find a solution.
Time is of the essence, with registration for diaspora voters already under way. That has led to murmurs of a delay to the elections, currently set for next May, something President Aoun has come out firmly against.
He has not publicly taken a side on the issue, but has stressed two basic principles: “holding the legislative elections as scheduled, without postponement under any circumstance, and the participation of Lebanese from the diaspora in these elections”.
There is also confusion within the current text of the law over how the six new MPs in the diaspora bloc would be distributed.
Hezbollah is sanctioned by many countries that are home to large sections of the diaspora – in North America, Europe and the Gulf. Hezbollah spokesman Youssef Zein previously told The National that this means the group is unable to campaign as effectively abroad as its opponents.
Typically Hezbollah and the Amal Movement fare worse in diaspora voting compared to their rivals - critics of Mr Berri's actions say this is what has led to his refusal to table efforts to overturn the current law on the agenda.
