Politics
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed parliamentary and presidential elections until September next year, citing Israeli restrictions and unfavorable circumstances.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed parliamentary and presidential elections until September next year, citing Israeli restrictions and unfavorable circumstances. Both elections are now scheduled to be held simultaneously on September 11, 2027. The decision has triggered significant political reactions internationally and in Israel.
According to a presidential decree issued by the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, presidential and legislative elections will now take place together on September 11, 2027. The Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that the main reason for the postponement was the “obstacles” created by Israeli measures, which have prevented the elections from being held on their originally scheduled dates.
Earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, maintained that Israel had refused to allow Palestinian election officials access to East Jerusalem and Gaza. The Palestinian presidency said that suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions were essential to ensuring transparent, fair and inclusive elections. Previously, parliamentary elections had been expected to take place on November 28, while the presidential vote was scheduled for early 2027.
The Israeli government strongly criticized Mahmoud Abbas’s decision, describing the Palestinian Authority as “corrupt.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sharply criticised Abbas on Friday, accusing him of attempting to “deceive” the international community by planning to postpone legislative elections. Meanwhile, the international community, including the European Union, has long urged the Palestinian Authority to hold regular elections as part of a broader reform process aimed at improving transparency within the Palestinian political system.
The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories were held in 2006, when Hamas secured a decisive victory over Fatah, the faction that dominates the Palestinian Authority. The election result triggered an intense power struggle between the two factions, eventually leading Hamas to take control of the Gaza Strip. The political and territorial division subsequently resulted in Fatah governing the West Bank and Hamas controlling Gaza. As a consequence of this prolonged division, the Palestinian Legislative Council, or parliament, has not convened even once since 2007.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last won a presidential election in 2005. His constitutional term was supposed to end in 2009. However, he has continued to govern through presidential decrees without obtaining a renewed electoral mandate, a situation that has repeatedly drawn criticism and raised questions both within the Palestinian territories and internationally.
