Palestinian President Abbas extends election nomination period — Anadolu Agency
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has extended the period for submitting candidate applications for the upcoming elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council from 12 to 18 days. Voting is scheduled for November 28 in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
As Anadolu Agency reports, Abbas amended the 2007 General Elections Law. The Palestinian agency Wafa said the additional time is needed for candidates to complete their applications amid Israeli military and administrative restrictions on movement, as well as the difficult security and political situation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Seven lists submit applications
The Central Elections Commission began accepting applications on Saturday. On Sunday, it received an application from the seventh electoral list, called “Phoenix.” On Saturday, applications were submitted by six other lists: the Future Palestine coalition, Justice and Construction, Unity and Democratic Change, Mustafa Barghouti’s Palestinian National Initiative and independent candidates, New Path, and Labor.
The commission stressed that submitting an application does not mean a list is automatically approved. It will verify whether each application meets legal requirements and includes the necessary forms and documents, after which it will notify applicants of its decision within three days of submission.
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Participation conditions and timetable
Candidates for the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council may run only as part of electoral lists. Each list must contain at least 16 and no more than 132 candidates and comply with women’s representation requirements.
Under a presidential decree issued in August, at least one woman must be among the first three candidates on each list, and thereafter there must be one woman for every four positions. The election campaign is due to begin on November 6, while early voting for security personnel is scheduled for November 26.
If held, the elections will be the first parliamentary elections in Palestine since 2006 and the third since the Palestinian Legislative Council was established. Its work was suspended after the Palestinian political split of 2007, and the Palestinian Constitutional Court ruled to dissolve the council in 2018. Mahmoud Abbas postponed the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2021, citing the lack of Israeli guarantees for Palestinians’ participation in East Jerusalem.
