Legislative Council elections on November 28 and presidential elections next year

Today, Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set November 28 as the date for holding the Legislative Council elections, while it was decided to hold the presidential elections during the first quarter of 2027, according to a new presidential decree.

The official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that the decree calls for inviting Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in general and direct legislative elections to choose members of the Legislative Council, in accordance with the provisions of the General Elections Law and its amendments.

She added that setting the date for the presidential elections will be completed in accordance with the law, and that they will be held during the first quarter of next year, noting that the decree comes within the framework of completing the electoral process and consolidating the democratic system.

The announcement of the election date comes about three weeks after the adoption of amendments to the General Elections Law, which included expanding the membership of the Legislative Council to 200 seats, reducing the electoral threshold to 1%, and raising the minimum number of candidates on one list to 20 candidates.

The amendments also stipulated enhancing women’s representation by requiring lists to include at least one woman among every three candidates, in addition to lowering the age of candidacy for membership in the Legislative Council from 28 years to 23 years.

Abbas had previously issued a decree in which he called on Palestinians inside and outside the Palestinian territories to elect members of the Palestinian National Council on the first of next November, with the elected members of the Legislative Council becoming members of the National Council by law.

This is the first official call to set a date for legislative elections in years, in light of the halt of the Palestinian electoral process since the last elections for the Legislative Council were held in 2006, which was followed by a political division between the Fatah and Hamas movements that prevented the organization of new electoral elections.