Palestine postpones legislative elections

LONG WAIT: Palestinians have not held a legislative election since 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats, resulting in a boycott by Israel and other Western countries

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas postponed what would have been the first Palestinian elections in nearly 20 years, issuing a decree on Friday to further delay voting for the Palestinian Legislative Council almost another year.

Rather than take place as scheduled next month, the decree pushes the elections back to Sept. 11 next year, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

Presidential elections, which have not taken place for more than two decades, are scheduled for the same day.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sept. 9.

Photo: AP

The move leaves entrenched Palestinian leaders unchallenged and threatens to further erode the Palestinian Authority’s credibility among ordinary Palestinians and donor countries who fund it.

The internationally backed body is dominated by Abbas’ party, Fatah, and has administered semiautonomous parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank since agreements reached in the 1990s. It has grown increasingly unpopular throughout Abbas’ presidency. Many Palestinians view it as corrupt and criticize its security cooperation with Israel.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, which Abbas heads, said in a statement that conditions in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were not conducive to holding elections, adding that Israel had not allowed election materials or international observers to enter Gaza.

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar wrote on X that Abbas’ “attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability.”

The move was expected after Palestinian factions across the political spectrum met in Cairo for discussions on delaying the vote, Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammed al-Hindi said earlier this week.

Hamas called the postponement “a step in the right direction” and said further talks should focus on rebuilding Palestinian institutions and holding elections at a later date.

Palestinians have not held a legislative election since 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats. Israel and Western countries then boycotted its government, fueling months of unrest that led to the Hamas takeover of Gaza the following year.

Power has been divided between Gaza and the West Bank in the two decades since, with Hamas in control of Gaza and Abbas’ Palestinian Authority in power in the West Bank.

Before the postponement, leading factions had not registered slates to contest the election, but behind the scenes, veteran officials had been in talks to join forces and take aim at Abbas. An unlikely alliance had emerged between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and a bloc led by former Fatah security chief Mohammed Dahlan.

“Abbas is terrified by the electoral alliance bringing our faction together with opposition factions and forces within Fatah that reject his leadership,” Dimitri Dilliani, a spokesperson for Dahlan’s faction, said in a statement.

Abbas has served as president since 2005 and delayed several presidential and legislative elections throughout his tenure.