Lebanon to hold parliamentary elections on May 15

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Lebanon has set May 15 as a date for the country’s parliamentary elections.

President Michel Aoun "signed a decree inviting the electoral bodies to elect members of parliament on May 15 for those residing in Lebanon,” his office said in a statement.

Employees participating in the electoral process will vote three days earlier on May 12, while Lebanese living abroad will cast their votes on May 6 and 8, the statement added.

In late October, the Lebanese parliament, with the exception of the Strong Lebanon bloc, voted to advance the date for the parliamentary elections to March 27 instead of May 8.

But the Strong Lebanon bloc, which holds 23 of the 128-seat assembly, submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Council last November about amendments approved by parliament, including the vote date.

On December 21, the President of the Constitutional Council in Lebanon, Tannous Mechleb, announced that no decision had been reached on the appeal submitted by the Strong Lebanon bloc regarding the amendments to the electoral law.

The polls are poised to witness stiff competition as the Arab nation is grappling with a severe economic crisis, along with fuel and medicine shortage since late 2019.

The crisis has worsened following a diplomatic crisis with the Gulf nations caused by criticism of the Yemen war by the now resigned Lebanese Minister of Information George Kordahi.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar