(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = There has been a possibility that the schedule for the first parliamentary election in 20 years planned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be delayed.
According to Reuters on the 9th (local time), PA Vice-President Hussein Al-Sheikh suggested the postponement of the election in a letter sent to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barro the day before.
In the letter, Deputy Al-Sheikh wrote, "The political, security and economic conditions that were the basis for the general election schedule scheduled for November 28 did not materialize as expected."
He said, “If we hold elections under the current circumstances, we will face fundamental obstacles that will affect inclusivity, freedom of participation, and fairness of the electoral process,” he said, Reuters reported.
Deputy Al-Sheikh noted that PA officials expected the situation to improve through the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace initiative and UN Security Council resolutions. President Trump's peace plan and the Security Council resolution supporting it include the deployment of international troops and new police forces in the Gaza Strip, the disarmament of the Palestinian armed political group Hamas, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
PA officials reportedly suggested that “the general election date should be moved back a few months and talks should continue to create internal conditions,” Deputy Al-Sheikh said.
Accordingly, Deputy Al-Sheikh recommended PA President Mahmoud Abbas to adjust the election date to early September next year.
On the 8th, the Associated Press also reported that Palestinian political factions were discussing postponing the general election. A high-ranking official of the Hamas-linked Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said that various political factions had agreed to postpone the election.
The Associated Press reported that the Fatah party, which leads the PA, did not confirm the observation that the election would be postponed, but said that the timing of the election would be decided through "dialogue and national consensus" and that related discussions would take place within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Last July, President Abbas issued a decree setting the general election for November 28.
Palestine's last general election was held in January 2006. At that time, Hamas, an armed political faction that advocated armed resistance against Israel, became the majority party, winning 74 of the 132 seats.
However, a year later, Hamas ousted Fatah and took control of the Gaza Strip after a bloody clash with Abbas's Fatah faction.
Afterwards, the Palestinian Parliament was virtually paralyzed, and was eventually officially dissolved by the Palestinian Constitutional Court at the end of 2018.
Abbas, now 90 years old, was elected in the election held on January 9, 2005. His official term ended in 2009, but he has remained in power to this day, with subsequent presidential elections repeatedly postponed or canceled.
