Lebanon’s parliamentary session called by Speaker Nabih Berri was adjourned on Tuesday after failing to reach quorum, with only 63 lawmakers present.

Lawmakers from the Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces, and several independent and reformist deputies boycotted the session, protesting Berri’s refusal to include a bill on voting rights for Lebanese expatriates. The move was a deliberate attempt to block the votes of 67 MPs who had demanded the measure be debated.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab welcomed the adjournment, saying it was “the right decision,” and warning that legislation passed without the participation of a significant portion of the Lebanese electorate would not serve the country.

“The first step toward resolving this crisis was not holding a parliamentary session today,” Bou Saab said. “Tomorrow’s Cabinet session will determine the next steps based on what happened today.”

He added that while he supports the right of all 128 MPs to be elected by both residents and the diaspora, such reforms must be pursued through parliamentary dialogue.

He expressed hope that the Cabinet would take measures to ease tensions surrounding the electoral file.

MP Melhem Khalaf said that refusing to include the urgent repeated bill “violates parliamentary rules and undermines the principle of equality among deputies, effectively paralyzing legislative work.”

MP Firas Hamdan stressed that the delay in approving reconstruction funding stems from “the Speaker’s disregard for the constitution and Parliament’s internal rules,” describing it as “factional behavior that ignores the national interest.”