Parliament descended into chaos on Monday as MPs from several blocs, including the Kataeb, Lebanese Forces, Change and Reform, the Centrists, and a number of independents, walked out of the legislative session in protest over the failure to address voting rights for Lebanese living abroad.

The session, with 17 items on its agenda, lost quorum and is set to reconvene at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

During the session, MPs also approved amendments to the Central Bank and Credit Law, allowing the Banque du Liban to print 500,000-, 1 million-, and 5 million-lira notes.

Parliament authorized the government to sign a headquarters agreement with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development under Decree No. 9109 and approved an additional 2,350 billion Lebanese pounds from the 2025 budget to cover retirement pensions and pay 12 million lira to public-sector retirees under Decree No. 936.

Other items under discussion included Decree No. 963, allowing Lebanon to join the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and Decree No. 602, which proposes amendments to the 2017 law regulating public-private partnerships.

Tensions flared early in the session, with MP Firas Hamdan condemning political attacks targeting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

“Accusing the Prime Minister of being a traitor or pro-Zionist is unacceptable. If this faction does not support him, they should resign. Such rhetoric only divides the country,” Hamdan said. Speaker Berri responded: “The Prime Minister leads the government of all Lebanon. The government is not the government of one or two; it includes everyone. Fear God, everyone.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gebran Bassil called on the government to implement the election law rather than deferring responsibility to Parliament.

“The current law provides a method for expatriates to vote for the six designated seats. Any talk of not implementing this process is baseless. The government must begin registration immediately to prevent claims for postponing the 2026 elections,” he said.

A heated confrontation also erupted between MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Lebanese Forces MPs, following accusations that the party was attempting to derail the elections. The exchange grew personal, with MPs trading accusations of unethical behavior, before Speaker Berri ended the debate and moved on with the legislative agenda amid chaos in the chamber.

Berri warned that he would adjourn the session if disorder persisted, particularly as MPs demanded that the election law be included on the agenda.