Abbas postpones Palestinian legislative elections to September next year

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that legislative elections will be postponed to September 2027, according to official media. This news confirms earlier speculations about the delayed polls, which were last held in 2006. The elections will now coincide with presidential elections on September 11, 2027, Abbas declared in a decree, citing Israeli obstacles as the reason behind the postponement, as reported by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

The elections, previously scheduled for November 28 this year, along with a presidential vote expected early in 2027, have been criticized by Israel, which has labeled the Palestinian Authority as corrupt due to the delay. In a statement, Abbas' office cited Israeli measures that hinder the elections from being held on their original date and called for the creation of suitable political, security, and ground conditions to ensure free, fair, and inclusive elections.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Abbas of deceiving the international community by postponing the polls. The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories took place in 2006, when Hamas, an Islamist movement, defeated Fatah, which governs the Palestinian Authority. This outcome led to a series of factional conflicts, with Hamas eventually seizing control of Gaza and dividing the territory with Fatah in the West Bank.

As a result, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the PA's parliament, has not convened since 2007. Abbas won the last Palestinian presidential election in 2005 and, despite his term expiring in 2009, has governed by decree ever since.