Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed plans to hold legislative elections on November 28, 2026, during a pre-recorded video address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 24. The proposed vote would be the first parliamentary election in the Palestinian Territories in 20 years. Abbas stated that his administration has completed a national reform program required by the international community and is moving forward with the ballot.
The announcement comes amid long-standing political divisions and geographic fragmentation. The last legislative elections occurred in 2006, when Hamas defeated Abbas’ Fatah party. Following a subsequent power split in 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip while Fatah retained control of the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Although Abbas was elected to a four-year presidential term in 2005, no presidential elections have been held since his mandate expired in 2009. He previously decreed that a presidential election would occur in 2027, though no specific date has been set.
The Palestinian Central Election Commission is scheduled to begin receiving candidate applications this coming Saturday. However, Fatah officials and domestic observers have expressed doubt regarding the feasibility of the vote. Challenges include Israel’s reported refusal to allow election materials—such as ballot boxes and ink—into Gaza, as well as the destruction of infrastructure in the region after two years of strikes. Hamas has stated it will participate, potentially through a coalition with other factions, including former Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan.
The scale of the election involves 200 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council, an increase from the previous 132. Under a decree by President Abbas, the electoral threshold has been lowered to 1%, and at least one in three candidates on any electoral list must be a woman. The financial impact is also significant for the Palestinian Authority, which relies on international funding; global supporters, including France, have conditioned continued legitimacy and support on the holding of direct, direct elections.
In the day-to-day life of residents, the outcome of the vote—or its potential cancellation—determines the delivery of basic services and the payment of public salaries. In the West Bank, Israel currently withholds billions in tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, leading to unpaid wages for government employees. A functioning legislature is seen by international backers as a necessary step toward the technocratic governance agreed upon in recent peace deals. What happens next depends on the Saturday deadline for candidate registration and whether international observers, pushed for by France, are permitted to oversee the November 28 proceedings.