LAU students cast their votes online for the 11th consecutive year under the One Student, One Vote system, on October 16, 2026. They elected 30 representatives to the Student Council across the Beirut and Byblos campuses, with a participation rate of 65.31percent.

In Beirut, 27 candidates competed for 15 seats. In Byblos, 10 candidates won their seats by acclamation, leaving contests in two schools: the School of Engineering, where four candidates ran for three seats, and the Adnan Kassar School of Business, where four candidates ran for two seats.

The process catered to students’ schedules. Polls opened at 7 a.m. so they could vote before morning classes, and eligible students could cast their ballots from anywhere. Every choice stayed confidential: no one, including the university’s IT administrators, could trace an individual vote. Campaigning stopped two days before the election, a silent period meant to let voters decide without pressure. Students tested their eligibility in the days before the vote, and on election day a support hotline, along with IT and Student Life staff, stood by to resolve technical problems.

“Before the silent period,” explained Senior Student Life Project Manager on the Beirut campus Lamis El Droubi, “candidates shared campaign videos and action plans on official university platforms, so that their peers could vote on programs, not just names.”

According to the Dean of Students on the Byblos campus Jad Abdallah, online voting limits interference in the process and lets students choose freely, without pressure from campaigning blocs. He affirmed that the university enforced strict security measures on election day to keep outside parties, including students from other universities, off campus premises.

When polls closed at 4 p.m., all candidates were invited to watch the results generated in real time. Representing LAU President Chaouki T. Abdallah, Interim Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management Raed Mohsen announced the results alongside Dean Abdallah. He congratulated the winners on a civil and orderly election and reminded them they now represent all students, regardless of any outside affiliation.

“LAU continues its tradition of online student elections to guarantee the transparency and privacy of every voter, and to offer a model of what democratic life and respectful electoral competition should look like,” Dr. Mohsen said. He expressed hope other universities would adopt online voting, and that the model would extend to municipalities and local councils, and eventually to a national level.

In Byblos, Dean Abdallah pointed to how the high number of uncontested seats had cooled the race and lowered turnout expectations. He stressed the council’s role in campus life: members relay the concerns and ideas of their peers, and help the administration understand the needs of the student body.

For Principal Student Life Project Manager on the Byblos campus Alan Kairouz, the elections each year are “an opportunity for the students to shape their campus experience.” Having overseen the student council elections for the past 15 years, Keyrouz said: “The evolution of our electoral process is something the university should be immensely proud of.” With its secure online platform, he added, LAU has “set a gold standard for electoral integrity.”

For the newly elected representatives, the work begins at once. “Starting next week, the winners will represent their fellow students on university committees and councils,” Dr. Mohsen said, “sitting alongside faculty and administrators and taking on responsibilities across every part of campus life.”