Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri on Tuesday adjourned a scheduled legislative session after failing to secure the required quorum, with only 63 of the 128 lawmakers in attendance.
The plenary session had been set to resume discussion of draft laws and proposals carried over from the September 29, 2025, agenda. However, it was boycotted by several parliamentary blocs, including the Strong Republic bloc of the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party, as well as a number of independent and reformist MPs.
Ahead of the meeting, the Progressive Socialist Party-led Democratic Gathering bloc’s Secretary Hadi Abu al-Hassan warned against the boycott, arguing that it would not advance efforts to amend the electoral law. “Let’s assume we boycott today’s session; who says the other side will submit and accept the amendment?” he said. “Boycotting won’t lead to a solution. It’s merely a statement of position.”
Abu al-Hassan reaffirmed his bloc’s support for allowing expatriates to vote from abroad, saying their participation stemmed from a commitment to “not disrupting parliamentary work.”
MP Marwan Hamadeh echoed that stance, stating, “We are not in favor of disrupting the work of the Council. We firmly support allowing expatriate Lebanese to vote from their places of residence and will not back down from that.”
Following the adjournment, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said he was “glad the session did not take place,” arguing that “legislation in the absence of a large segment of (representatives) of the Lebanese people is not the best solution for the country.” He added, “Based on the information I have, if there had been a decision to hold the session today, it would have been held, and its failure to take place was key to starting a solution.”
For his part, Strong Republic MP George Adwan explained his bloc’s absence by saying it aimed to “correct the course of action in Parliament,” rather than to engage in a political boycott. “I am sorry that some MPs want to adopt a new approach but continue to act in the old way,” he said. “Your problem will be with the voters, not with us, because you want to preserve the past, while we want the future.”
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