The president of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), Mahmoud Abbas, announced that legislative elections will be held on November 28 in the territory of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem.
In a statement, the ANP stated that the presidential decree signed by Abbas “calls on the Palestinian people to participate in free and direct legislative elections to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.”
If the election takes place, it will be the first of its kind held in the Palestinian territories since the 2006 legislative elections, at the time also organized by the Palestinian Authority.
At the time, the election generated controversy because most Western countries, following the stance of the Israeli government, refused to recognize the legitimate victory of Hamas, which obtained 44.45% of the votes, enough to obtain 75 seats and a majority in Parliament.
In turn, the Fatah party, led by Abbas and hegemonic in the ANP, came in second place, after gathering 41.43% of the votes, equivalent to 45 legislative seats.
Since then, the ANP has never held elections, neither legislative nor presidential, which has allowed Fatah to maintain its hegemony in the entity and also relative control of the territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem — although this control is often subject to measures imposed by the Israeli authorities.
Hamas took over the administration of the territory of the Gaza Strip and maintained it until last Monday (6), when it announced its departure to allow “the entry of a technocratic committee aimed at implementing a new government”.
Presidential elections
In terms of presidential elections, to choose the leader of the ANP, the last time Palestinians went to the polls was in January 2005.
At that time, Mahmoud Abbas was elected for a term that would last four years, ending in 2009. However, his group has remained in control of the Palestinian Authority since then, despite not having held any more presidential elections.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
