GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that the first presidential and parliamentary elections since 2006 will be h
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Abbas issued the decree on Friday night that sets May 22 for holding the legislative elections, July 31 for the presidential elections, as well as August 31 for the National Council elections.Acco
AMMAN: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s announcement of the first parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years has raised hopes of an end to longstanding divisions, but skeptics doubt it will bring about serious change.
According to decrees issued by the presidential office on Friday, the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, will hold legislative elections on May 22 and a presidential vote on July 31.
Hanna Naser, head of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, told a packed press conference a day earlier that the decrees will usher in a badly needed democratic process.
Naser said the elections will be transparent and will deliver a functioning legislative council, adding: “After 15 years without a legislative body, it is important to have accountability through a council elected by the people.”
2021-01-16 16:05:34 GMT2021-01-17 00:05:34(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
RAMALLAH, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) A senior Palestinian official announced on Saturday that 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem are eligible to vote in the coming elections.
All Palestinians over 18 years old in the Palestinian territories should be able to vote freely or become candidates, Hana Nasser, chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, told a news briefing in Ramallah.
Nasser made the remarks a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued decrees to hold legislative elections on May 22 and presidential elections on July 31.
However, there are no guarantees that Israel would give the Palestinians a permission to hold the elections in East Jerusalem, but we have our alternative plans to hold the elections in the city in case Israel refuses, he said.
President Abbas decrees first parliamentary, presidential elections in Palestine in 15 years Saturday, 16 January 2021 4:06 AM
[ Last Update: Saturday, 16 January 2021 4:06 AM ] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decreed parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in the besieged Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank later this year, the first such votes after 15 years of rivalry between his Fatah party and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
The Palestinian leadership has been divided between Fatah and Hamas since 2006 when the latter scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in the besieged Gaza Strip. Hamas has ever since been running the densely-populated coastal enclave, while Fatah has been based in the autonomous parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.