Palestinian Authority postpones legislative elections / Vote to be rescheduled next year following agreement in Cairo

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will postpone until next year the legislative elections scheduled for November 28, following an agreement reached between Palestinian factions in Cairo. The decision aims to create better conditions for organizing the vote and securing a Palestinian consensus to guarantee its success.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency told the EFE news agency that President Mahmoud Abbas will issue a decree on postponing the elections. The agreement calls for establishing a concrete road map for organizing the vote next year, as well as continuing, with Egyptian mediation, discussions on reorganizing the Palestine Liberation Organization and reconciling the Palestinian factions.

The national dialogue process will also include elections for the Palestinian National Council, the PLO's parliament. According to the Palestinian presidency, Israel has refused the Central Elections Commission access to the Gaza Strip and denied European observers entry into the enclave.

Palestinians have not held legislative elections since 2006, when Hamas defeated Fatah. In 2007, rivalry between the two groups led to the political split between the West Bank, administered by the PNA, and the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas until the current war with Israel. Elections called in 2021 were canceled by Abbas, who cited restrictions on voting in East Jerusalem.

In June, Abbas announced that presidential elections would be held at the beginning of 2027. He has governed by extending the mandate he won in 2005, although it should have ended in 2009.