October 7, 2026
After his meeting with the President of the Republic at Baabda Palace, the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ahmed Al-Hajjar, confirmed the government’s intention to continue strengthening security measures in the capital, Beirut, and various Lebanese regions, in addition to working to improve the level of services in the Ministry’s facilities. He stressed the importance of strengthening the state’s presence in the cities and villages of the south, in light of the continued Israeli presence and repeated attacks.
Al-Hajjar explained that the meeting discussed the general situation in the country, most notably the field developments in the south and their repercussions on the Lebanese arena as a whole. He pointed out the importance of the two visits made by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, accompanied by a number of ministers and general directors, to the city of Nabatieh, considering that they represent an embodiment of the effective presence of the state in the region, during which discussions were held to strengthen security services and procedures and meet the urgent needs of citizens in Nabatieh and other villages in the south.
Regarding the security file, Al-Hajjar drew special attention to the capital, Beirut, stressing the continued monitoring of the security situation and the strengthening of measures in all Lebanese cities. He added that the discussion touched on developing the services provided in the facilities of the Ministry of Interior, such as public security and civil registries, to ensure that citizens’ affairs are managed in the best way.
Regarding the election law, Al-Hajjar explained that he participated in the meetings of the parliamentary subcommittee based on an official invitation, stressing respect for Parliament’s right to discuss what it deems appropriate. He reviewed the government’s position based on submitting a draft to amend current Law No. 44, focusing on two basic items: The first is to cancel the adoption of the magnetic card mentioned in Article 84 while adopting the major “mega-center” polling centers and pre-registration, and the second is to organize expatriate voting as happened in previous sessions. He stressed the government’s openness to all law proposals and its readiness to cooperate on them.
In his response to questions related to the raids and investigations carried out by the Mount Lebanon Investigation Detachment and concerns about discretion, Al-Hajjar denied the existence of any discrimination, praising the great efforts made by the various security agencies affiliated with the Ministry, especially the Internal Security Forces, Public Security, the Information Division, the Narcotics Control Office, and the Investigation Detachments. He stated that the judicial police carries out its role in conducting preliminary investigations and taking the necessary measures and arrests, before referring the complete files to the competent judiciary, represented by public prosecutions, investigative judges, and courts, to follow the judicial process until its end.
