ATFL VP of Policy and Communications Patricia Karam writes for The Hill.
❝ U.S. policymakers and other international partners must also play their part, recognizing that diaspora voting is not only a matter of electoral integrity, but also the linchpin of Lebanon’s political balance of power.
Restrictions on the diaspora’s participation preserve Hezbollah’s ability to dictate outcomes in Parliament. Expansion of diaspora participation opens space for a different reality — one where reformist, independent and opposition voices have a fair chance to compete, and where Hezbollah’s dominance is finally broken.
In the end, what is at stake is far more than a few seats in Parliament. The fight over diaspora voting is a fight over Lebanon’s future: It is Lebanon’s clearest path to breaking Hezbollah’s stranglehold on power and charting a sovereign path rooted in accountability, pluralism and the will of its people. ❞