Leader Mahmoud Abbas, 90, has announced presidential elections in early 2027 and parliamentary elections from next November, according to his office, without specifying whether he would run for re-election himself.
Abbas was elected in early 2005 after the death of the first president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. His term would last four years, however no presidential elections have been held since then.
The Palestinian leader also rules by decree, something he has been criticized for both domestically and internationally. “President Mahmoud Abbas announced that presidential elections will be held in early 2027,” according to a press release from the presidency.
In another statement from the presidency, Abbas underlined that it is “absolutely ready to organize Palestinian National Council elections in November, which include general parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories as well as elections abroad”.
The Palestinian National Council is the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Its members come from the Palestinian territories and the diaspora.
The last parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories were held in 2006. The Islamist movement Hamas had won them, defeating Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, which had previously dominated Palestinian political life.
Therefore, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian Authority’s parliament, has not met since 2007. Holding elections is part of the reforms demanded by the international community, which financially supports the Palestinian Authority.
