2021 Palestinian general election

The 2021 Palestinian general election will include legislative elections being held on 22 May 2021, presidential elections on 31 July and the Palestinian National Council elections on 31 August 2021 according to a decree by Mahmoud Abbas on 15 January 2021.[1] Hamas welcomed the announcement.[2] According to Hanna Nasser, chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, "about two million Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip are eligible to vote."[3] The UN and the EU welcomed the development.[4][5]

2021 Palestinian general election

Presidential election
31 July 2021
Candidate Mahmoud Abbas Party Fatah Alliance PLO
Election districts
President before election Mahmoud Abbas Fatah President-elect TBD
Parliamentary election
22 May 2021
All 132 seats to the Palestinian Legislative Council 67 seats are needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats ± Hamas Ismail Haniyeh TBD Fatah Mahmoud Abbas TBD PFLP Ahmad Sa'adat[lower-alpha 1] TBD PNI Mustafa Barghouti TBD Third Way Salam Fayyad TBD DFLP Nayef Hawatmeh TBD PPP Bassam Al-Salhi TBD This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Mohammad Shtayyeh Fatah

The elections had been previously scheduled between February and March 2021[6] and before that, were scheduled to be held in April and October 2014 in accordance with the Fatah–Hamas Gaza Agreement of April 2014.[7] However, the elections were then delayed indefinitely.[8] In October 2017, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in which Hamas agreed to dissolve the unity government in Gaza and hold general elections by the end of 2018,[9] but the elections again were not held. Mahmoud Abbas announced on 26 September 2019 at a speech held at the UN General Assembly that he intends to set a date for elections once he returns to the West Bank.[10] Hamas responded by indicating that it is ready to hold "comprehensive and general elections",[11] but on 6 November Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rejected Abbas's terms for holding elections, which required candidates to recognize the agreements signed by the PLO to be able to run.[12] On 11 November 2019, Abbas said that there would be no new Palestinian elections unless they include east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.[13] On 26 November 2019, Hamas confirmed that it had agreed with the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to participate in elections and that Hamas will not accept the exclusion of Jerusalem under any circumstances.[14] Abbas announced in early December that elections will take place in a few months.[15] On 10 December 2019, the Palestinian Authority asked Israel to allow East Jerusalem residents to vote in the planned elections, a request that Israeli officials said would now go to the security cabinet.[16]

Background

Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian National Authority on 9 January 2005, for a four-year term ending on 9 January 2009.[17] The last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council were held on 25 January 2006.[18] There have been no new elections either for president or for the legislature since these two elections; democratic elections in the State of Palestine since these dates have been for local offices only.

Fatah–Hamas conflict

In September 2008 it was suggested that Abbas' term be extended one year or that the Palestinian Legislative Council be dissolved a year early in order to hold both elections at the same time.[19] Hamas objected to holding simultaneous elections, arguing that the presidential election should have been held in January 2009 and the parliamentary elections in 2010.[20] Hamas also claimed that the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz al-Dewik, who is a Hamas member, became the Palestinian president after Abbas' term ended on 9 January 2009, until new elections are held.[21]

Fatah argued that elections should have been held in January 2010, since the Palestinian election law calls for presidential and legislative council elections to be held simultaneously, four years after the date of the later. Since the legislative council elections were held in 2006 (a year after the presidential election), new elections for both should have been held in January 2010.[22] In reconciliation talks held in Cairo, Egypt in March 2009, Hamas and Fatah agreed to hold the elections by 25 January 2010.[23] In the end, because of the Fatah–Hamas conflict, the issue of new elections remained unresolved.

In February 2010, local government elections were called in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for July 2010.[24] The West Bank Palestinian government decided to postpone the elections, arguing that it wanted to safeguard "national unity".[25] In December 2010, the Palestinian High Court of Justice ruled that once cabinet calls elections, it does not have authority to cancel them.[26] After being postponed several times the local government elections took place in October and November 2012 and covered only the West Bank.

Attempts to resolve election issue

Presidential and parliamentary election to the Palestinian Authority were postponed several times because of intra-Palestinian political disputes between Fatah and Hamas,[27] from the original date of 17 July 2010.[28]

In February 2011, following the resignation of Saeb Erekat as chief negotiator with Israel for the Israeli–Palestinian peace process following the release of the Palestine Papers,[29] which were harshly critical of the PLO's concessions, the PLO Executive Committee announced intentions to hold elections before October.[27] Abbas's followed the announcement with calls for "the spirit of change in Egypt" to inspire Palestinian unity. His aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said: "The Palestinian leadership decided to hold presidential and legislative elections within September. It urges all the sides to put their differences aside."

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said that Abbas does not have the legitimacy to make the electoral call. "Hamas will not take part in this election. We will not give it legitimacy. And we will not recognize the results."[30]

In October 2011, Abbas sent a proposal to Hamas for another general election, preferably to be held in early 2012. It was suggested that Hamas would be more willing to participate in another election following the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, which boosted Hamas' standing in Gaza.[31] In November 2011, an election date on 4 May 2012 was preliminarily agreed on.[32] However, due to further bickering, the election could not be held by that date.[33]

On 20 December 2013 Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority to form a six-month national unity government that would finally hold the long-delayed general election.[34] Following the upgrade of the UN status of Palestine to non-member observer state, it was proposed that general state elections would follow in 2013, in line with unity talks of Fatah and Hamas. In April 2014 agreement was reached between Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government, which took place on 2 June 2014, and for general elections to take place within 6 months of the agreement.[7]

Electoral law changes

In 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party unilaterally changed the electoral laws of 2005[35] from being half proportionally elected and half constituency/first past the post-based to full proportional representation.[36] He insisted he could issue the change by decree as long as the Palestinian Legislative Council was unable to convene.[35]

The move was seen as a bid to lessen the chances of Hamas in the next election. Hamas, which controls the PLC, declared the move illegal.[35]

Presidential election

Fatah renominated Abbas as their candidate for the next presidential elections in early June 2008,[37] although reports in December suggested that he would not run for a second term.[17] Rumours emerged again on 28 October 2009 of Abbas not running for another term;[38] on 5 November he publicly announced his intention not to run for reelection,[39] though he said he would stay until the next presidential election.[40]

Opinion polls

A December 2020 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that Fatah would win 38% of the vote and Hamas would win 34%.[41] The same poll also found 52 percent of Palestinians think elections held under present conditions would not be fair and free. A number of obstacles to a successful election remain.[42]

Notes

1. Sa'adat is currently detained in Israel.

References

1. "President Abbas enacts decree-law on holding general elections". WAFA. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
2. "Hamas welcomes Abbas decree announcing Palestinian elections". Reuters. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
3. "CEC chairman: Two million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are eligible to vote". WAFA. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
4. "Palestine: Statement by the Spokesperson on launching the preparations for elections". EEAS - European External Action Service - European Commission.
5. "UN Spokesperson: Elections will be a crucial step towards Palestinian unity". PNN. 17 January 2021.
6. "Fatah, Hamas say deal reached on Palestinian elections". Al Jazeera. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
7. "Fatah, Hamas agree to form Palestinian unity government". France 24. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
8. "Palestinian elections on hold until further notice". Al Monitor. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
9. Nidal al-Mughrabi; Nadine Awadalla (22 November 2017). "Palestinian factions agree to hold general election by end-2018". Reuters. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
10. Jack Khoury (26 September 2019). "Abbas Says He Will Announce First Palestinian Elections Since 2006". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
11. "Hamas says ready to join general, comprehensive elections". Xinhua. 27 September 2019.
12. Rossella Tercatin (6 November 2019). "Hamas and Islamic Jihad reject Abbas's terms for Palestinian elections". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
13. Khaled Abu Toameh (11 November 2019). "Abbas: No elections without Gaza, Jerusalem; 'martyrs' are not terrorists". Retrieved 27 November 2019.
14. "Hamas agrees to the plan for holding Palestinian elections". Middle East Monitor. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
15. Staff writer (10 December 2019). "Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas announces elections". The Jerusalem Post.
16. Jack Khoury; Noa Landau (10 December 2019). "Palestinians Ask Israel to Let East Jerusalem Residents Vote in PA Election". Haaretz. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
17. "Report: Abbas won't run for another term". Ynetnews. 16 December 2008.
18. "The Final Results for the Electoral Lists" (PDF). 29 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2008.
19. "Palestinian FM: Abbas' term could be extended". Xinhua. 4 September 2008.
20. "Abbas urges vote to heal rift with Hamas". Reuters. 12 November 2008.
21. "Hamas: PLC Speaker to replace Abbas in January". Xinhua. 3 December 2008.
22. "When are the next Palestinian Elections". Reut Institute Blog. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
23. [email protected]. "Palestinian factions agree to hold elections by January 2010 - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
24. "Palestinian Local Elections 2010". IFES. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
25. Abu, Khaled. "PA High Court: Municipal elections can't be delayed". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
26. "Palestinian High Court: "Cancelling Elections is Illegal"". IFES. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
27. "Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA - Palestinian National Elections Before September, Says PLO Executive Committee". Retrieved 17 November 2013.
28. "Hamas vows to boycott Palestinian elections". 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 14 February 2011.
29. "Erekat quits over Palestine Papers". Al Jazeera English. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
30. "Abbas calls for Palestinian polls - Middle East". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
31. "Abbas to present Hamas general elections offer".
32. Archived 17 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
33. "Palestinian elections delayed by Hamas-Fatah bickering". The National. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
34. Llamado Hamas a Abbas por gobierno unitario Ansa, 20 December 2013 (in Spanish)
35. "Abbas insists on amended electoral law". Xinhua. 3 September 2007.
36. "Presidential decree pertaining the general elections" (PDF).
37. "Fatah nominates Abbas for next presidential elections". Xinhua. 8 June 2008.
38. "Abbas may not run in coming election: official - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
39. "Abbas will not seek re-election". BBC News. 5 November 2009.
40. "Article". canada.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
41. "Abbas decrees first Palestinian elections in 15 years". The Independent. 15 January 2021.
42. "Uncertainty as Palestine's Abbas announces elections". www.aljazeera.com.

External links

• Fact sheet on the Presidential election