The Palestinian Authority has decided to postpone the legislative elections, which were scheduled for 28 November 2026, citing what it described as substantial obstacles linked to the current political, security and economic conditions and their potential impact on the inclusiveness of the vote, freedom of participation and the integrity of the electoral process.
Elections postponed over political and security reasons
Palestinian Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh informed French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that the elections would be postponed for several months, attributing the decision to the deterioration of conditions across the Palestinian territories. The information was contained in a letter dated 8 October and seen by Reuters.
The letter said: “The assessment concluded that the anticipated political, security and economic conditions on which the date of the legislative elections, 28 November 2026, was set had not been met.” It added: “Holding elections under the current conditions faces substantial obstacles affecting their inclusiveness, freedom of participation and the integrity of the electoral process.”
Factions agree to postpone vote
In parallel, Palestinian sources said the factions had reached an agreement to adopt an initiative put forward by the Popular Front and implement it according to specific mechanisms and a timetable. The initiative includes postponing the legislative elections for one year, as well as cancelling the results of the electoral colleges for the Palestinian National Council.
The agreement followed a series of meetings recently held by Palestinian factions in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with the participation of a Fatah delegation and delegations from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front. According to the sources, the Fatah delegation will submit the meeting's recommendations to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for consideration by the movement's Central Committee and the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
The consultations aim to pave the way for a recommendation to issue a presidential decree in the coming days postponing the elections for one year. The sources also said that Cairo would host a comprehensive national dialogue in the coming weeks, at Egypt's invitation and with the participation of Palestinian factions, with the aim of ending the division and achieving national unity.
Access restrictions hinder election preparations
A senior Palestinian source said earlier that the Israeli government had refused to allow the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to enter the Gaza Strip and the city of Jerusalem to oversee preparations for the legislative elections. The source said the refusal would hinder the commission's work in two areas of the Palestinian territories covered by the voting plan.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree last July setting 28 November 2026 as the date for the legislative elections and called on voters in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate. The Central Elections Commission said at the time that it was ready to conduct the electoral process in all three areas.
The commission said its plan covered Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, alongside the West Bank, and called on the international community to support the electoral process and press for the removal of obstacles preventing it from carrying out its duties across the Palestinian territories.
The last Palestinian legislative elections were held in 2006. After the results were announced, the dispute between Fatah and Hamas deepened, before Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, entrenching the Palestinian political and geographical division that rounds of dialogue among the factions are seeking to end.
