On Tuesday, over 25 groups in Palestine signed a letter to the Chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission ahead of the intra-Palestinian meeting, calling for elections to hold in the sovereign state.
“We demand Abbas to issue a presidential decree to set a date for elections in line with the basic law,” Issam Arouri, director-general of Jerusalem Legal Aid Center said in a press conference.
Long Overdue in Palestine
The last time a vote held in Palestine was the election for the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006. In the previous year, the country held presidential elections which brought Mahmoud Abbas into power.
At the UN last year, President Abbas announced that he was calling for an election to be held in Palestine and was consulting various factions to see to the conduct of a vote after he dissolved the Palestinian Legislative Council on December 22, 2018. He is constitutionally mandated to hold elections within six months of the Council’s dissolution but only intentions have been declared.
The Hamas Influence
Hamas, one of the largest Palestinian militant Islamist groups became the first Islamist group to win elections through a ballot, contesting under the name: Change and Reform. After winning in legislative polls in 2006, receiving 44.45% of the vote and winning 74 of the 132 seats it reinforced its power in Gaza by ousting the then ruling Fatah rivals which won just 45 seats.
While Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, EU, and the UK, its supporters recognise it as a resistance movement. The 2006 elections led to the ongoing political and geographical split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in which Hamas governs Gaza independent of the Palestinian Authority.
The declaration by President Abbas will remain just words in a room until the Fatah and Hamas agree on elections. This may not favour Hamas who are likely to lose in the elections according to analysts. On the other hand, if both factions agree to an election, the current situation with Isreal as its forces occupy East Jerusalem and the West Bank could cut off close to half of Palestinian voters.
For Fatafta at Al-Shabaka, Berlin-based Palestinian writer, researcher and policy analyst, the speculation for elections is secondary to the power tussle between the various political factions in Palestine which must be addressed first before the talk on elections can progress.
“Between Hamas, Fatah, and their decade-long intra-fight, there seems to be little room for a democratic, free and fair political playing field for new Palestinian leaders to emerge and lay out the foundations for a democratic and representative Palestinian leadership outside the prism of Hamas, Fatah and their internal fighting,” she told Aljazeera.
