The Ministry of Interior has rejected the candidacy of Abbas Abdul Latif Fawaz, the former president of the World Lebanese Cultural Union and the Amal Movement’s nominee for the Shiite seat in District 16, which represents the diaspora, Kataeb.org has learned.

The decision adds fuel to a broader and increasingly contentious debate over how Lebanese expatriates will be represented in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Fawaz’s bid was blocked amid confusion over the legal and procedural rules governing nominations for District 16, a provision of Lebanon’s electoral law that has sparked deep divisions both in Beirut and among Lebanese communities abroad.

Administrative sources told Kataeb.org that “no candidate can run unless the nomination process has been officially opened for citizens abroad, with clearly defined legal deadlines, required documents, procedures for opening overseas campaign accounts, the appointment of a Lebanese or foreign financial auditor, and guidance on whether candidacy applications are submitted through the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities or through Lebanese embassies abroad, as well as specification of the seat and the continent to which it is allocated.”

District 16 was established under Lebanon’s 2017 electoral law to give Lebanese living abroad a dedicated voice in parliament. The law reserved six seats for expatriates — one each for Maronite, Orthodox, Catholic, Sunni, Shiite, and Druze communities — with each seat tied broadly to a specific continent.

However, several political groups in Lebanon oppose District 16, arguing that limiting the diaspora to just six seats effectively marginalizes their role and reduces their political influence to a symbolic status rather than meaningful representation. They advocate for allowing expatriates to vote for all 128 parliamentary seats, just as citizens residing in Lebanon do.