Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has canceled next month’s elections, drawing criticism from Palestinian political figures and a demand from France to reverse the decision after two decades without a national vote.
Abbas issued a decree Saturday replacing the November 28, 2026, parliamentary election with simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on September 11, 2027. Palestinians last elected a president in 2005 and a legislature in 2006.
France, which recognized a Palestinian state last year, said Sunday that the postponement undermines Palestinians’ democratic rights and the legitimacy of their leadership. “Coming twenty years after the last national elections in Palestine and five years after the postponement of the legislative elections scheduled for 2021, this decision once again deprives the Palestinian people of the right to democratic expression at the ballot box,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
“There is an urgent need for voice to be restored to the Palestinian people and for them to be able to choose their representatives in free and transparent elections, as President Abbas had committed to do.”
Paris called for elections throughout the Palestinian territories without delay and offered assistance alongside its European partners. It also tied its continued support for Palestinian institution building to fulfillment of the commitments made in connection with recognition.
Criticism also came from Palestinians who had anticipated competing in the election. New Path leader Samer Sinijlawi accused Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Deputy Secretary-General Jamil Mezher of campaigning to postpone the vote, according to The Jerusalem Post. “These efforts disregarded the hopes of millions of Palestinians who had waited two decades and welcomed this democratic opportunity,” Sinijlawi said.
Candidates who had planned to run told the newspaper or posted publicly that the prolonged absence of legislative elections showed the Palestinian Authority was putting the “status quo ahead of the public interest.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected Abbas’ explanation that Israeli measures had prevented the election, describing him as a “corrupt dictator.”
“His attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability,” Sa’ar wrote. “Just like the other lies about 'reforms' that were never implemented - ending payments to terrorists and their families, and stopping incitement in the Palestinian education system. For over twenty years, Abbas has been selling the same thing: lies.”
Palestinian officials defended the postponement by citing Israeli military operations, settlement expansion, settler violence, movement restrictions and the withholding of Palestinian revenues. They also pointed to Gaza’s security and humanitarian conditions, stalled reconstruction and restrictions they said had impeded access for election personnel and international observers.
The decision followed consultations among Palestinian factions and approval by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee. Two Palestinian officials told Reuters that representatives of Abbas’ Fatah movement and Hamas had agreed during a Wednesday meeting in Cairo to delay the election.
Abbas previously postponed national elections in April 2021, issuing a decree delaying legislative, presidential and Palestinian National Council votes until conditions for elections throughout the Palestinian territories, particularly Jerusalem, were met. Those elections never took place.
Abbas issued a decree Saturday replacing the November 28, 2026, parliamentary election with simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on September 11, 2027. Palestinians last elected a president in 2005 and a legislature in 2006.
France, which recognized a Palestinian state last year, said Sunday that the postponement undermines Palestinians’ democratic rights and the legitimacy of their leadership. “Coming twenty years after the last national elections in Palestine and five years after the postponement of the legislative elections scheduled for 2021, this decision once again deprives the Palestinian people of the right to democratic expression at the ballot box,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
“There is an urgent need for voice to be restored to the Palestinian people and for them to be able to choose their representatives in free and transparent elections, as President Abbas had committed to do.”
Paris called for elections throughout the Palestinian territories without delay and offered assistance alongside its European partners. It also tied its continued support for Palestinian institution building to fulfillment of the commitments made in connection with recognition.
Criticism also came from Palestinians who had anticipated competing in the election. New Path leader Samer Sinijlawi accused Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Deputy Secretary-General Jamil Mezher of campaigning to postpone the vote, according to The Jerusalem Post. “These efforts disregarded the hopes of millions of Palestinians who had waited two decades and welcomed this democratic opportunity,” Sinijlawi said.
Candidates who had planned to run told the newspaper or posted publicly that the prolonged absence of legislative elections showed the Palestinian Authority was putting the “status quo ahead of the public interest.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected Abbas’ explanation that Israeli measures had prevented the election, describing him as a “corrupt dictator.”
“His attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability,” Sa’ar wrote. “Just like the other lies about 'reforms' that were never implemented - ending payments to terrorists and their families, and stopping incitement in the Palestinian education system. For over twenty years, Abbas has been selling the same thing: lies.”
Palestinian officials defended the postponement by citing Israeli military operations, settlement expansion, settler violence, movement restrictions and the withholding of Palestinian revenues. They also pointed to Gaza’s security and humanitarian conditions, stalled reconstruction and restrictions they said had impeded access for election personnel and international observers.
The decision followed consultations among Palestinian factions and approval by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee. Two Palestinian officials told Reuters that representatives of Abbas’ Fatah movement and Hamas had agreed during a Wednesday meeting in Cairo to delay the election.
Abbas previously postponed national elections in April 2021, issuing a decree delaying legislative, presidential and Palestinian National Council votes until conditions for elections throughout the Palestinian territories, particularly Jerusalem, were met. Those elections never took place.
