Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has once again postponed what would have been the first Palestinian elections in nearly two decades, issuing a decree to further delay legislative voting for nearly another year. According to the official Wafa news agency, the parliamentary vote originally scheduled for next month will now be merged with a presidential ballot and set for September 11, 2027.

The long-awaited legislative vote was initially planned for late November, with the presidential election expected in early 2027. The decree followed a high-level meeting of top Palestinian officials convened to discuss the postponement, reflecting deep-seated political maneuvering within the administration.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, chaired by Abbas, claimed in a statement that conditions in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip were supposedly not conducive to free voting. They alleged that the Israeli regime had deliberately blocked election materials and international observers from entering Gaza.

The official narrative also blamed the Israeli regime's military operations, settlement expansion, and the withholding of tax revenues as primary obstacles. Furthermore, a lack of reconstruction progress in Gaza and difficulties regarding international stabilization forces were cited as contributing factors to the decision.

This latest delay leaves entrenched leadership unchallenged while intensifying skepticism regarding the credibility of the Palestinian Authority among both local populations and international donor nations. The last parliamentary elections occurred back in 2006, resulting in a bitter political split, while 90-year-old Abbas has continued to rule by decree since his official term expired in 2009.

Source: www.aljazeera.com