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Abbas sets elections
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree calling elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council set for November 28, and he also moved to reconstitute the abeyant Palestinian National Council (PNC) as the Palestine Liberation Organization’s parliament representing Palestinians both inside and outside of the occupied territories.
“set for November 28”
The New Arab frames the political contest around a vote in Israel, with its headline warning that “Tibi rejection threatens Palestinian unity bid in Israel vote,” while the Middle East Council on Global Affairs argues Abbas’s decrees are aimed at navigating external pressure for “PA reform” rather than reviving a defunct two-state solution.
The Middle East Council on Global Affairs also says Abbas’s June 4 decree ratified a new 350-seat structure with “200 seats for the occupied territories” and “150 for the diaspora,” following a provisional constitution for the State of Palestine released for public review in February.
In parallel, Anadolu Ajansı reports Abbas issued a decree restoring the Palestinian Legislative Council to 132 seats, reversing a June law that expanded the legislature to 200 members, and it says the Palestinian Central Elections Commission received the decree and would proceed with the election timetable.
Anadolu Ajansı adds that in-person voter registration will begin on Aug. 15 and continue for five days alongside online registration, while the Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007 following a split between Fatah and Hamas after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.
Eligibility and disputes
Anadolu Ajansı says Abbas’s new decree retains provisions introduced in June, including lowering the minimum age for parliamentary candidates from 28 to 23, requiring women to comprise at least 33% of candidates on electoral lists, and maintaining a 1% electoral threshold.
It also reports the decree preserves a requirement that electoral lists commit to the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the “sole legitimate representative” of the Palestinian people, and it bars candidates from simultaneously running for president and parliament.
A Gaza Center for Human Rights statement warns that amendments “deepen the monopoly and restrict the right to run and political choice,” and it argues that the frequent change in the structure of the electoral law reflects a pattern of individual decision-making by decree-laws issued in the absence of a functioning Legislative Council.
Al-Jazeera Net describes the Palestinian Election Commission receiving a draft amendment law to the General Election Law, while it highlights that the clause requiring commitment to the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative” has “sparked broad factional rejection.”
Al-Jazeera Net also reports Hamas urging Palestinians to hurry to register and update their information in the electoral registry “to ensure their right to participate in the upcoming Palestinian elections,” as it says voter registration will begin next Saturday, August 15, and run for five days.
What comes next
The Middle East Council on Global Affairs says Abbas has latched onto an initiative known as the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution as a political and economic lifeline, and it describes the prospect of elections as an opportunity Palestinians should not miss.
“set for November 28”
It also argues that since October 7, 2023, the PA has become more marginalized than ever, with the institution facing a political and economic assault by an Israeli government content to see it topple, and with Gaza as the main theater of international attention.
Anadolu Ajansı reports that the Palestinian Central Elections Commission said it would proceed with the election timetable, with parliamentary elections scheduled for Nov. 28, and it says the decree clarifies procedures for announcing preliminary and final election results and filing appeals.
Al-Jazeera Net adds that the Palestinian Election Commission announced receipt of a draft amendment law and that Hamas urged citizens to register, while it also notes that on July 19, 2025 Abbas issued a ruling on holding National Council elections before the end of the year.
In parallel, the Gaza Center for Human Rights warns that the danger of the amendments lies not only in the content of some provisions but also in how political competition rules are being reshaped by decree-laws issued by the executive power in the absence of an elected and effective legislative council.