Politics
Sources said on Thursday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is leaning toward postponing the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place on November 28.
Sources said on Thursday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is leaning toward postponing the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place on November 28. Speaking to Al Araby Television, the sources explained that the postponement could be announced before the deadline for registering electoral lists closes on Sunday. They indicated that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine support the move. The sources added that no new date has yet been agreed upon for holding the elections. Consultations are continuing among Palestinian factions and political forces regarding the future of the electoral process and arrangements for the next phase. Earlier, an informed source revealed that Fatah’s Central Committee had recommended postponing the parliamentary elections, while proposals to move the vote to the summer of next year are also being considered within the movement.
According to circulating reports, officials are considering announcing the postponement on technical and logistical grounds related to the electoral process, particularly the difficulties involved in holding elections in the Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem. In this regard, a senior Palestinian source said earlier this week that Israeli occupation authorities were refusing to allow the Central Elections Commission to enter the Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem.
However, Farid Taamallah, spokesperson for the Central Elections Commission, confirmed that the commission has dozens of employees and trained, qualified personnel in the Gaza Strip capable of carrying out the various stages of the electoral process. Taamallah said the commission was following reports that Israeli authorities had refused to allow its officials to enter Gaza to assess preparations. He described the prevention of commission officials from traveling to Gaza from the occupied West Bank as regrettable.
On September 27, the Central Elections Commission confirmed that amendments to the legal deadline for candidate nominations would not affect the voting date set for November 28. It said it would continue managing the electoral process in accordance with the relevant presidential decree. Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, announced that a delegation led by Zaher Jabarin, the movement’s head in the West Bank, had departed for the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to continue consultations on efforts to advance Palestinian national dialogue.
According to Hamas, the delegation includes political bureau member and head of its National Relations Office, Hussam Badran, as well as Ghazi Hamad, a member of the political bureau in the Gaza Strip. The delegation is scheduled to meet with several Palestinian factions and political forces. The meetings will focus on advancing national dialogue, bringing the positions of Palestinian groups closer together, and discussing issues related to the current phase and developments concerning the Palestinian cause. Discussions over a possible postponement of the elections are taking place as Palestinian consultations on national dialogue continue in Cairo. Palestinian sources have also reported preliminary understandings among several factions about the need to reconsider the election date and the arrangements for holding the vote.
