Parliament’s tenure

Lebanon’s Constitution does not specify the length of Parliament’s tenure and the electoral law in force usually dictates its duration. Conventionally, all the previous electoral laws have set the Parliament’s lifespan at 4 years, save the 2000 electoral law, which prolonged the tenure to 4 years and 7 and a half months, supposedly so that the presidential elections wouldn’t coincide with the parliamentary ones.

Parliament’s term extensions during Civil War

In 1972, the parliamentary elections took place between the 16th and 30th of April and the tenure was supposed to expire on May 2, 1976. However, the eruption of the Civil War on April 13, 1975 prevented the holding of elections during the 60 days that preceded the term’s expiration date, which lead to exceptional successive extensions until 1992.

• Law No. 1/76 dated March 13, 1976 extended Parliament’s term until June 30, 1978, i.e. for a period of 2 years and 2 months.
• Law No. 3/78 dated February 20, 1978 extended Parliament’s term until June 30, 1980, i.e. for a 2-year period.
• Law No. 14/80 dated June 2, 1980 extended Parliament’s term until June 30, 1983, i.e. for a 3-year period.
• Law No. 9/83 dated May 21, 1983 extended Parliament’s term until December 31, 1984, i.e. for a period of 1 year and 6 months.
• Law No. 3/84 dated June 22, 1984 extended Parliament’s term until December 31, 1986, i.e. for a 2-year period .
• Law No. 11/86 dated February 11, 1986 extended Parliament’s term until December 31, 1988, i.e. for a 2-year period.
• Law No. 52/87 dated December 22, 1987 extended Parliament’s term until December 31, 1990, i.e. for a 2-year period.
• Law No. 1/89 dated December 7, 1989 extended Parliament’s term until December 31, 1994, i.e. for a 4-year period. The Chamber convened later and approved a law terminating its extended term and the elections took place for the first time after the war. The extended term expired on October 15, 1992, meaning the length of extension was 1 year and 6 and a half months.

The final extension occurred following the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri and the ensuing instability. Law No. 676 dated April 28, 2008 extended Parliament’s term until June 20, 2005, i.e. for a 20-day period.

So will the elections be held before June 20, or shall we expect a new extension that could drag for months or even years?