Lebanon’s parliament voted to postpone the May 2026 parliamentary elections by two years, with 76 lawmakers in the 128-seat chamber voting in favor of the extension.
Lebanon last held parliamentary elections in 2022 and had already been considering an extension of the current parliament’s mandate before the latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri indicated to Asharq al-Awsat in late February that the Quintet, a collection of international backers including the U.S. and France, looked favorably at postponement, even as the group publicly maintained at the time that elections would still be held on schedule.
According to analysis, postponement had been viewed in some political and diplomatic circles as a way to give Lebanon more time to deal with Hezbollah’s disarmament issue and to advance financial, economic, and administrative reforms under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government.
Since the war began, postponement has taken on new urgency. Reporting and party statements indicate that even some of those who opposed today’s two-year extension—including Kataeb and members of the Free Patriotic Movement—were objecting above all to the length of the postponement rather than to any delay under force majeure conditions. Sami Gemayel of Kataeb said elections could not realistically be held now but argued that one year would have been more appropriate than two.
Mohammed Raad, MP and head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc attended the session, following Israeli reports of an assassination attempt against him in an attack on Beirut's southern suburbs last Monday, March 1.
Nidaa al-Watan reported yesterday that some blocs were considering filing an appeal with the Constitutional Council if the extension passed.
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