He Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas He issued a constitutional order on Wednesday designating the head of the Palestinian National Council, a legislative body, as his successor if the position were to become vacant. “In the event of a vacancy in the position of President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), the president of the Palestinian National Council will assume his duties temporarily until presidential elections are held in accordance with the electoral law,” stipulates a constitutional order issued by Abbas. According to the norm, that interim presidency It will be exercised for a maximum period of 90 days, which may only be extended once.
Abas He has held the presidency of the ANP since 2005, after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and no elections have been called in the Palestinian territories – Gaza and the West Bank – since 2006, when Hamas won the legislative elections. The president called elections for 2021, but they were finally canceled on the pretext that Israel did not allow elections to be held in occupied East Jerusalem – which aspires to be the capital of a future Palestinian state -, when polls predicted a major defeat for his Fatah party. .
For years, the succession to the presidency of Abbas, 89 years old, with health problems and low popularity, has been one of the main unknowns for the Palestinians, who many see him as authoritarian and corrupt. Until today, there was also no legal mechanism that would allow for temporary automatic relief. If the position becomes vacant for any reason, the current president of the National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, born in Rafah (Gaza) in 1949, will therefore be who assumes the leadership of the ANP on an interim basis.
The Palestinian National Council is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), representing all Palestinians, including the diaspora. Abbas justified this measure by “historical responsibility” and by the need to “protect the Palestinian political system, the nation, preserve the integrity of its lands and guarantee its security,” in the face of the political and economic crisis it faces and the “war of extermination.” “who suffers.
There is consensus among the international community that the ANP should regain political control of a post-war Gaza, but the legitimacy crisis that Abbas is suffering, together with his age and fragile health, have accelerated calls for a change of power.
