Fatah Official Suggests Palestinian Legislative Elections May Be Postponed

Ramallah (ANTARA) - A senior Fatah official stated on Thursday (10/9) that the Palestinian legislative elections may not be held as scheduled on 28 November, while calling for a comprehensive national dialogue before voting takes place.

Jibril Rajoub, Secretary-General of the Fatah Central Committee, told reporters in Ramallah, West Bank, that “there are indications that the elections cannot be held on 28 November.”

“However, elections have been and must remain a strategic choice and our path towards governance,” he added, emphasising the need for a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue to achieve consensus regarding the implementation mechanisms of the elections.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree in July setting 28 November as the date for the legislative elections, while presidential elections are scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2027.

Previously, Abbas approved several amendments to the election law, including increasing the number of Legislative Council seats to 200, lowering the minimum age for candidates to 23, increasing female representation, and requiring all candidates to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Hamas rejected these amendments, stating that the changes would strengthen what the group describes as “unilateral” control over the Palestinian political system.

The last Palestinian legislative elections were held in 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats in the Legislative Council. The subsequent tensions between Hamas and Fatah led to a political and geographical split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In April, Palestinians cast votes in local elections in the West Bank and the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, marking the first voting process since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.