Palestinian elections to be held after years of paralysis

JERUSALEM • Sixteen years after he was elected for what was meant to be a four-year term, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has announced that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held in the spring and summer.

The announcement on Friday appeared to be part of an effort to get the divided Palestinian house in order and project at least a semblance of unity as the Palestinian Authority prepares to repair ties with Washington and the incoming Biden administration after a disastrous few years of discord and disconnect under United States President Donald Trump.

The presidential decree stated that voting for the long-defunct Palestinian Legislative Council will take place on May 22, followed by presidential elections on July 31.

Mr Abbas, 85, leader of Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian party, was last elected to office in early 2005 after the death of his predecessor, Mr Yasser Arafat. Analysts said they believed Mr Abbas was now seeking to renew his legitimacy in the eyes of the international community, especially with the imminent arrival of US President-elect Joe Biden in the White House, which they said Mr Abbas hoped would herald a return to negotiations with Israel.

"He doesn't want to hear from anyone that he doesn't represent the Palestinian people and that he's not in control of Gaza," said Mr Jihad Harb, an expert on Palestinian politics.

The last time Palestinians went to the polls, it did not end happily. In 2006, a rival party representing Hamas, the Islamist group, trounced Fatah in elections for the Legislative Council, leading to 1½ years of uneasy power sharing.

The US and much of the West refused to work with the unity government because Hamas, which they considered a terrorist organisation, would not accept international demands such as renouncing violence and recognising Israel's right to exist.

A brief civil war between the two groups ensued in the coastal territory of Gaza. It ended in June 2007, with Hamas seizing control there after routing forces loyal to Mr Abbas and confining his authority to parts of the occupied West Bank. Mr Abbas responded by forming an emergency government based in the West Bank. The political and geographical schism, and the collapse of a series of reconciliation agreements, have since stymied any semblance of a functioning democratic process.

Hamas welcomed Mr Abbas' announcement, saying it was keen to make the elections "successful". It added that work was needed to create an atmosphere for free and fair elections.

NYTIMES