DETROIT — The Lebanese Consulate has opened voting registration for all eligible Lebanese citizens, who would like to vote in Detroit in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

Next year’s parliamentary vote will be the first-ever Lebanese elections that allow citizens to vote abroad. 

To be eligible to vote, you have to be a Lebanese citizen over the age of 21 by the time of the election, which is expected to be held in November 2014.

You have to bring a Lebanese ID, and register in person at the consulate before Dec. 30. If you register to vote in the United States, your name will be crossed off the voters’ list in Lebanon. Hence, you will not be able to cast a vote there.

The Lebanese Consulate is located at 3031 W. Grand Blvd,  Detroit, MI 48202. For more info call the consulate at 313-758-0754.

Next year’s election was supposed to be held in June, but the Lebanese Parliament extended its own term by 15 months, after its failure to agree on an electoral law. With Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam failing to form a government after more than five months of his nomination, Lebanon faces a power vacuum, and politicians have yet to agree on a law for the upcoming elections.

The Lebanese Parliament has 128 members, split evenly between Christians and Muslims and elected on sectarian basis. The last election, held in June 7, 2009 took place under the 1960 electoral law. The 128 parliament seats were distributed over 26 districts in a winner-takes-all system.