Abbas Extends Election Filing to 18 Days as 7 Lists Register
An official Palestinian news agency, reported that Abbas issued an amendment to the 2007 General Elections Law. The change is meant to give candidates more time to finish their applications, given Israeli military and administrative restrictions on movement and difficult security and political conditions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to the agency.
The Central Elections Commission began accepting applications Saturday for elections set for Nov. 28, with voting planned in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
In a statement Sunday, the commission said a seventh list, Phoenix, had filed an application. Six other lists applied Saturday: the Future Palestine Coalition, Justice and Construction, Unity and Democratic Change, the Palestinian National Initiative of Mustafa Barghouti and independents, New Path, and Labor.
The commission stressed that filing an application does not amount to approval. It will review whether each submission satisfies the legal requirements and contains the required forms and documents, then inform applicants of its decision within three days of submission.
Candidates can contest the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council only through party lists, not as individuals. Each list must field at least 16 and no more than 132 candidates and meet the legal minimum for women's representation.
Under a presidential decree issued in August, every list must place at least one woman among its first three candidates and one woman in each subsequent group of four.
The commission's timetable starts election campaigning Nov. 6 and schedules early voting for security personnel on Nov. 26.
Abbas fixed the Nov. 28 date in a decree issued July 9. If the vote goes ahead, it will be the first Palestinian legislative election since 2006 and the third in the council's history, after the 1996 and 2006 ballots.
The council has been inactive since the Palestinian political split in 2007, and the Palestinian Constitutional Court ordered its dissolution in 2018. Abbas postponed the legislative and presidential elections planned for 2021, citing the lack of Israeli assurances that Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem could take part.
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