Palestine to hold first legislative election in nearly two decades

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called legislative elections for November 28, reviving a democratic process that has remained frozen for nearly 20 years.The decree, issued on Thursday, asks Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem to vote for representatives to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the parliament of the Palestinian Authority.If the vote proceeds as planned, it will be the first parliamentary election since 2006, when Hamas secured a surprise victory over Abbas' Fatah movement. The political fallout from that election led to a split between the West Bank and Gaza, leaving the PLC effectively inactive since 2007.The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority faces growing international calls to implement political reforms. Several donor countries have pushed for improvements in governance and institutional accountability in exchange for financial assistance.Abbas, now 90, has remained in office despite his four-year presidential mandate ending in 2009. Successive presidential elections have not been held, and the Palestinian Authority has largely functioned through presidential decrees.A previous attempt to hold legislative and presidential elections in 2021 was abandoned after the Palestinian leadership said Israel had not guaranteed voting in East Jerusalem.Earlier this year, Palestinians voted in municipal elections in parts of the occupied West Bank, the first local polls since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Abbas has separately said presidential elections are planned for early 2027, although he has not said whether he intends to contest them.Catch the latest world news and top headlines. Download the TOI App.