Discussions are continuing to postpone next month's highly anticipated Palestinian legislative elections, sources told The National on Thursday, with a decision expected in the coming days.
The last election for the Palestinian Legislative Council was held in 2006 and won by Hamas, leading to the rift between the group and the ruling Fatah party. Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected in 2005, has overstayed his term by 17 years and now rules by decree.
The PA has faced mounting pressure from Palestinians, the region and the West for internal reforms and presidential elections. Mr Abbas, 90, and his administration are widely regarded as corrupt and ineffective. The election of his son, Yasser, to Fatah's central committee this year has raised concerns that he was setting him up as his successor in a presidential election expected next year.
Mr Abbas called off an attempt to hold a presidential election in 2021, which polls indicated he would probably lose, citing Israel's refusal to allow Palestinian voters in occupied East Jerusalem to participate.
The current conditions are even less conducive for elections after the devastation of Gaza by Israel in a war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attacks, and the related increase in Israeli violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank where the PA is based.
Nevertheless, Mr Abbas publicly promised that 2026 would be the year for Palestinian democracy after EU threats to cut funding if he failed to comply with their demands for reforms.
Election commission head Jamil Al Khalidi told Palestinian media this week that preparations were being made to hold elections in Gaza and the West Bank despite security, logistical and technical hurdles.
He said alternatives to traditional ballot boxes and voting ink were being sourced, as Israel continues to block their entry into Gaza.
It is unclear how Palestinians might react to a delay in the legislative elections, but many were already bracing for it, an August poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research showed. Out of 1,270 respondents interviewed, 44 per cent said they did not believe the elections would take place as scheduled.
The conditions of the postponement will be noteworthy, one of the sources told The National, given the EU's continued pressure for the vote to be held.
Another source, who previously worked closely with Mr Abbas, said the Palestinian President was shortsighted and unlikely to have planned beyond postponing the vote.
"He only thinks one step ahead. And he has absolutely no concept about the importance of public opinion," the source said.
