Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 9, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 1, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleLebanon’s parliament voted on March 9, 2026, to postpone scheduled May elections by extending its own mandate by two years amid escalating conflict with Israel, with 76 MPs in favor, citing widespread instability and mass displacement.
DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Lebanon’s parliament extended its own mandate for two years on Monday, a statement from the speaker's office said, pushing back elections that were meant to take place in May of this year.
The office of parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said 76 lawmakers of the 128-seat body had voted in favour of the extension. The vote came a week after Lebanon was dragged into the regional war by militant group Hezbollah's launch of rockets and drones into Israel, which has responded with heavy bombardment across the country.
Lebanon last held parliamentary elections in 2022 and had been considering an extension of the current body's mandate before the latest round of fighting erupted between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lawmakers have taken similar measures in the past. The parliament elected in 2009 voted to extend its own mandate until 2017, citing security concerns linked to the war that was then raging in neighbouring Syria.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir; Editing by Maya Gebeily)
Lebanon’s parliament extended its mandate for two years due to escalating conflict with Israel and security concerns.
76 out of 128 Lebanese lawmakers voted in favor of extending the parliamentary mandate.
The extension came after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel, prompting heavy bombardment and raising security fears.
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