Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced this Saturday that the country's presidential and legislative elections will be held on September 11, 2027, postponing the legislative elections by almost a year.
The Wafa agency published the statement, drafted by Abbas's office, which announced the publication of the "presidential decree in which he called for the simultaneous holding of presidential and legislative elections."
The Palestinian legislative elections, whose convening is part of the reforms requested by the international community, had been scheduled for November 28, 2026, and the presidential elections were expected in early 2027.
According to the Palestinian presidency, the change responds to "obstacles imposed by Israeli measures" that prevented electoral officials from accessing East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel, and the Gaza Strip to organize the elections on the planned date.
Likewise, the Palestinian authorities pointed out that Israeli forces were preventing the creation of "adequate political, security, and logistical conditions to guarantee free, fair, and inclusive elections."
It was in the framework of a meeting between Fatah, Abbas's party, and Hamas in Cairo, Egypt, that the Palestinian factions agreed to "open a national dialogue" and postpone the votes.
For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the Palestinian leader last Friday of "deceiving the international community" by preparing that postponement.
Failed elections
This is not the first time that Palestinian elections have been postponed. In 2021, President Mahmoud Abbas called legislative and presidential elections, but subsequently suspended them, arguing that there were no guarantees to hold the vote in East Jerusalem.
The last legislative elections were held in 2006, when Hamas won the election. Since then, disputes with Fatah have deepened the Palestinian political division.
Currently, Hamas maintains control of Gaza, while Fatah leads the Palestinian Authority, which administers sectors of the occupied West Bank.
The rupture between the two organizations in 2007 caused the paralysis of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the body equivalent to Parliament, which has not met since then.
For his part, Abbas has remained in the presidency since 2005, even though his term was supposed to end in 2009. In the absence of new presidential elections, he has continued to exercise power through decrees.