Batroun: Attending a Batrouniyat youth gathering, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gebran Bassil addressed the issue of Syrian displacement, stating, "Instead of the government doing what's necessary to return Syrians to their country, it has now allowed Syrian students to enroll in public schools without having any identification papers."
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, Bassil added that any student living in Syria can decide to come and study in Lebanon at any time, impacting the quality of public schools. He believed that the government's actions are encouraging Syrians to remain in Lebanon and even more so, encouraging them to come from Syria to Lebanon.
Bassil recalled that the Free Patriotic Movement has been the sole entity highlighting this issue, stating, "Everyone has been silent on the issue of Syrian displacement, while FPM is the only one struggling and presenting laws for the Syrians to return to their country."
Addressing the Lebanese diaspora voting issue, Bassil noted that Lebanese expatriates gained the right to vote from abroad for the first time in 2018, thanks to a law passed in Parliament by FPM. He mentioned that expatriates now have the option, by law, to elect one of the six representatives abroad or one from their district in Lebanon.
Bassil expressed concern over attempts by political parties to cancel the diaspora voting right or maintain the six seats representation of Lebanese expatriates. He emphasized the fear of reverting to the pre-2018 era, potentially cancelling the voting rights of those residing outside Lebanon, a move to which the Free Patriotic Movement strongly objects.