Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday launched a scathing critique of Lebanon’s current electoral law, calling it a “distorted” system that has “devastated the country,” and rejected any possibility of maintaining it in future elections.
In comments published by Al-Jamhouria newspaper, Berri said his Development and Liberation bloc has already submitted a comprehensive proposal to amend the electoral law and to establish a Senate – part of a broader initiative to replace the existing framework with one “entirely outside the current law.”
The Speaker ruled out restoring expatriate voting for parliamentary seats, noting that the current legislation had permitted it only once. Instead, he called for the introduction of a mandatory electoral card, which he said would simplify the voting process and reduce costs for both voters and candidates. Berri emphasized that there is still time to enact such reforms.
These statements by the Speaker indicate that the electoral law reform will now become a new flagship political issue.
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