Palestinian Authority Announces November 28 General Election... First in 20 Years

First Election Since 2006 General Poll
Announcement Comes Amid International Pressure for Elections

Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine. Photo by Reuters/Yonhap News

The Palestinian Authority announced on July 9 (local time) that it will hold a general election on November 28. This will be the first general election in Palestine in 20 years, since 2006.

According to CNN, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, issued a decree designating November 28 as the election date. He stated, "The general election will be held across all Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip."

No general elections have taken place in Palestine since 2006. At that time, the Iran-backed militant group Hamas won the election, and after a period of conflict with the ruling Fatah party, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, leading to a split between the two sides and the suspension of further elections. As for the presidential election, none have been held since President Abbas took office in 2005.

Although his original term was supposed to end in 2009, Abbas has remained in power through presidential decrees, effectively extending his rule. During this time, President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have faced criticism for corruption and abuse of power, and the international community has pressured them to hold elections to prove their legitimacy.

The Abbas administration's move to finally hold a general election, despite its prolonged authoritarian rule, is believed to be due to intensified internal and external pressure following Hamas's announcement that it would transfer power to a civilian authority in the Gaza Strip. On July 6, Hamas voluntarily disbanded its Emergency Committee, which had governed the Gaza Strip for 20 years, and announced that it would transfer authority to the Gaza Administrative National Committee (NCAG).

However, it remains uncertain whether the Palestinian general election can actually be conducted properly. Currently, Israel is not permitting voting in East Jerusalem, which has been under Israeli occupation since 2021. In fact, both the general and presidential elections were canceled in 2021. In addition, after prolonged conflict with Israel, nearly all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have become displaced, and almost no infrastructure remains for holding an election. The residents' registry has also not been updated due to ongoing Israeli attacks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.