On Thursday, the Lebanese cabinet convened at Baabda Palace and approved draft laws for the adoption of magnetic cards and the mechanism of major polling stations (Megacenters) to be implemented in the 2026 parliamentary elections.
A Megacenter is essential to allow individuals to vote from their place of residency instead of going to vote where they are registered.
President Michel Aoun said that the “parliamentary elections should take place on the date, regardless of positions related to the issue of Megacenter,” adding that each political should party bear responsibility for its position.
The Lebanese government has dropped the plan to implement the Megacenter for the May 15, 2022 elections, a necessary reform that would have helped Lebanese voters with the challenge of the ongoing fuel crisis.
This reform was a subject of debate in the past two weeks between political parties. According to the Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi, the implementation of Megacenters will be impossible before the upcoming elections.
He explained that this move would need 4 months and $5 million to work, including the difficulty to provide enough workers to manage these massive poll centers.
The 2022 parliamentary elections were initially set for March 2022 then changed to May 2022.
For months, there have been concerns that some political parties might try to postpone the elections due to the nationwide anger against the political figures that have brought the country to its current multi-dimensional crisis.
The dates for the elections are still on. The Lebanese government has already approved $18 million to hold the elections and invited the European Union to send election observers.
